That's My Boy
by adder574
Summary: A follow up to I'm Proud of You Son. You dont have to read that to follow this. John, Sam, and Dean visit Mary's grave and run into an unexpected visitor.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

A/N: This story takes place after my first fic, I'm Proud of You Son. You don't have to read that to follow this one, but you can if you want to. There is also a small spoiler for Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things in this chapter and in the author's note at the end of this chapter. Sorry for the delay in posting this. I found a beta reader, and I want to say a huge thank you to Soar for all her help.

Summary: John, Dean and Sam visit Mary's grave and run into an unexpected visitor.

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural and I'm not making any money. I promise to return them when I'm done.

"Bobby, thanks for everything," said John as he was packing the last of his things into the trunk of his son's '67 Chevy Impala.

"No thanks necessary, John. Just look after yourself and our boys. Or else!"

"You have my word."

It had been 4 months since the semi had broadsided them, after they'd tried to stop The Demon. John could not believe how close he had come to losing both his boys. Sam, thank God, had not been seriously injured, but Dean had ended up in a coma. He had almost died. While Dean had been comatose, John had ended up taking a trip down memory lane and he had realized that his life would be meaningless without his sons. He made a promise that he would be there for his boys.

Dean's recovery was long. Between the demon and the accident, his lungs had been badly damaged, but Dean fought hard to get back in shape and now, four months later, the doctors had finally given him a clean bill of health.

Both Dean and Sam had been surprised by their father's behaviour during Dean's hospital stay. Dean had been shocked when his father wouldn't let him sign himself out AMA. He had made Dean follow every one of the doctor's instructions to the letter. Sam had also been shocked that his father had stuck around. During Dean's recovery, he never even once mentioned hunting, or the demon. John and Sam still had their share of arguments, but for the most part, they managed to get along.

Bobby had taken them in until Dean could get his strength back. He gave John a job in his salvage yard and when Dean got a little stronger, he joined them. Sam, who'd never had Dean or John's mechanical skills, had taken a part time job at a local bookstore.

John had a lot of time on his hands to think. After the accident, Dean had been placed on a ventilator. He'd ended up with a tracheotomy, a hole cut into the neck to allow him to breath through a tube without causing damage to his throat For reasons John could not even begin to guess at, Dean had a phobia about surgery and had not reacted well to the news that, after he had the vent removed, the tracheotomy incision had to be closed surgically. John had held his son in his arms the whole night, trying to keep Dean calm and from bolting out of the hospital. With Sam and Bobby's help, John had somehow managed to get Dean to talk to him. John had learned a lot of things that surprised him.

Dean did not change overnight, but John did notice he seemed a little more willing to talk to his family, he, Sam and John had a couple of serious discussions. However, there was one area that was still strictly taboo. Dean would never talk about his mother. When Dean had been in the hospital, John had accidentally come across a letter and found out that his son had applied to college. He was filled with pride when he found out his oldest had received a full scholarship to MIT. Sam had gotten Dean to admit that he applied to make his mother proud. It really saddened John that Dean had no problem admitting that his mother might have been disappointed in him, but could not, or would not, let himself think that she was proud of the man he had become. So John, even though he knew that it would be extremely hard on Dean, and that he would object, had planned to take his boys to visit their mother's grave.

"Hey, Dad."

John looked up as Sam came out of the house.

"You ready, Sam?"

"Yup."

"Where's your brother?"

"He's in the house, double checking to make sure he didn't forget anything."

"You mean he's stalling."

"Yeah. Dad, do you think this is a good idea? Do you think he's ready for this?"

"Sam, he's never going to be ready, but this is something I think we all need to do." John sighed heavily. "I'll go see if he's all set."

Back in the house, Dean was sitting on the bed, in the room that he and Sam had been sharing. He looked up and saw Bobby enter the room.

"You about ready, Kiddo? Your daddy's looking for you."

"Yup, just um… double checking." Dean said, turning back to his things.

"You ok, son?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I just think this is a waste of time. There are so many potential leads for a good hunt. It's been way to long since I was on one.

"You know you can talk to me right?" Bobby offered.

"Yeah I know, Bobby, and thank you, but I'm fine. Nothing to talk about."

"Dean!" he heard his father's voice. "Get a move on before I let Sammy drive and you know the rule."

"I'm coming," Dean answered back "And no way am I listening to that tortured emo stuff."

Dean got up and left the room and Bobby followed. He was going really going to miss the Winchesters.

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John loaded the last of Dean's things into the car. He wanted to drive, but Dean reminded John that it was his car. Besides, as bad as Sam's emo rock was, John's country and western stuff was worse. John was just glad to have something to distract Dean. There was little talk as they drove toward Wichita, Kansas, where Mary's father had placed a headstone. About a half hour before they reached the cemetery, John got the argument from Dean that he had been expecting.

"Come on, this is stupid," Dean said.

"What is?" John asked.

"Going to see mom's grave. She doesn't even have a grave. There was no body left after the fire," Dean protested.

"She has a headstone," his father pointed out.

"Put up by her father, a man we don't even know. You want to go pay your respects to a slab of granite put up by a stranger, come on."

'Dean, that's not the point," John answered.

"Then enlighten me."

"It's not about her body, or a casket, it's about her memory, okay, and after everything that's happened, it just seems like the right thing to do."

"Irrational is what it is."

"Look, dude, I think this is something we all need to do," John explained patiently.

"Why don't we try to find a hunt? It's been a while since we kicked some evil ass."

"Good idea, son, and we will after we do this. Sound good to you, Sam?" John asked his younger son.

"Yeah," Sam responded.

Much too soon for Dean's liking, they pulled up at St. Matthew's Cemetery. John and Sam got out of the car and started to head toward the headstones. They got about five feet from the car when they realized they were missing someone. John turned back and he saw that Dean was still sitting in the driver's seat, making no move to get out of the car.

"Sam, wait here," John ordered his younger son.

"Dad, don't push too hard alright," Sam requested, his voice betraying his concern.

"Don't worry, kiddo," John said before he walked back to the car.

"Hey, Dean, you coming?"

"I'll wait here for you, okay, please, Dad?" John wanted to tell Dean to get out of the car, but his son never said please. Dean had made a lot of progress since he had been released from the hospital, and John knew that Dean would retreat behind his walls if he pushed too hard.

"No problem, son. We'll be right over there if you change your mind."

John walked back to Sam and they made their way to Mary's grave. It was extremely difficult for both of them. At first, they didn't know what to say, so they started with small talk. They filled Mary in on everything that had been happening and before they knew it, almost 45 minutes had passed. Sam glanced up to the car. Dean had not moved.

"Dad, are you sure this was a good idea?" Sam asked his father.

"Yeah, Sam. It is something we all needed. Just give your brother some time ok? I mean, the fact that he's even here at all is progress."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, his curiosity piqued by his father's statement.

"Whenever we would pass through this way, I would drop by here. I had to leave Dean at the hotel. He would pitch a fit if I even tried to bring him."

"I never knew that." Sam turned and looked back toward the car, surprised by his father's statement. Dean hadn't moved a muscle and despite his father's insistence that Dean could handle this, Sam was still worried. "I'm going to go check on him."

"Okay, I'll be there shortly."

John turned back to Mary's grave.

"You'd be real proud of them, Mary. They're good boys."

"Who are you and why are you here?" a voice said behind him, startling the hunter.

John turned around and found himself staring at a man he had not seen in 23 years. The man was just as shocked to see who it was.

"John Winchester, what the hell are you doing here?"

John looked directly into the eyes of Mary's father and said, "Hello, Frank."

A/N: This story was inspired by Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things. When Dean mentioned the uncle, I was hoping he would show up when the boys were there. Since in my Story, "I'm Proud of You Son, I had it that Mary's parents were still alive, I figured it made the most sense for them to run into Mary's father. Hope you liked this chapter. Please read and review.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"John Winchester, what the hell are you doing here?"

John looked directly into the eyes of Mary's father and said, "Hello, Frank."

"You got some nerve showing your face here, Winchester."

"I don't want to fight with you, Frank. We're just here to pay our respects. Can we not do this?"

"The boys are with you?" asked Frank in a hopeful tone.

"Yeah. What's it to you?"

"How are they?" Frank was hesitant to ask because of the way he'd left things, but they were Mary's boys.

"You don't have the right to ask that! You're the one that wanted nothing to do with them, " John ground out angrily.

"That's not true and you know it, Winchester, " Frank replied defensively.

"Okay, you wanted nothing to do with one of them, but my boys, Frank, Mary's boys are a pair. You reject one, you reject both, " John stated and with that he turned his back and started towards the car.

Frank watched as John turned. Frank knew that if John left, so did his last connection to his daughter. Frank had retired last year and he missed Mary more than anything now that he had nothing else to focus on. Making up his mind, he called after John.

"John, please wait," Frank requested in a desperate tone.

As much as John wanted to keep walking, he had never heard Mary's father sound like that. The man was usually so self assured and confident. It was that tone that made John stop and turn around.

"What?"

"I made a lot of mistakes. Mary was everything to me. Since I retired last year, I've been thinking a lot about my daughter. I wondered what happened to you and the boys. You took off so quickly."

"I had good reason," John responded.

Frank was thinking in for a penny in for a pound. He knew what he wanted, he just didn't think John would ever agree.

"Look, I'm asking, and I know you're probably going to say no, but I want to see my grandsons. I'm begging you! They're all of Mary I have left."

John was torn. He wanted to tell this man right were to go. Then again, Mary and her father had been close when John first met them. On the other hand, it was Mary who threw him out of their lives

He recalled the day he had first met the man. He and Mary had been going out for about 3 weeks when she decided she wanted him to meet her parents. John was worried about this because Francis Jackson was the CEO of a large finance company and a very wealthy man. John had just gotten his mechanic's license and he and his friend, Mike, were talking about opening up their own garage. John was lucky, at the moment, if he could make the rent. He figured Mary's parents were going to take one look at him and come to the conclusion that he was only dating Mary for her money. Nothing was farther from the truth. Unfortunately, it turned out just like John had predicted. Mary's mother, Margaret, treated him like something she had wiped off the bottom of her shoes. Frank was not much better. Fortunately, Mary was nothing like her parents. She knew that John cared about her and not her dad's money.

Mary was her father's little princess, so he may not have liked John, but he put up with him for Mary's sake. He even agreed to pay for the wedding and give them a loan for a down payment on a house if Mary promised to do one thing for him. It was a small request that she had planned to carry out anyway. John didn't like the thought of taking Frank's money, but he agreed to let Frank help them get started.

Mary's mother was more interested in her social status than anything else. John had learned that the only reason Margaret even agreed to have a child was because a lot of social gatherings took place at birthday parties, and Margaret wanted to be invited.

Frank adored Mary, but there was one thing he could not buy and that was a son. He wanted someone to carry on the Jackson family name. So he asked that one thing of his daughter, to name her first born Jackson. Mary had no problem agreeing to this and John didn't either, he loved Mary.

Mary suffered complications when she was pregnant with her first born and Dean was 2 months early. The baby had not been expected to survive. When Frank found out, he asked that Mary not give this son his name. He wanted it to be carried on. Mary refused to believe that her son would be anything but fine. She got so upset that her father could reject her son that she threw him out and told him not to come back. If he didn't want her son to have the name Jackson, he would be named after his father, Jonathan Dean Winchester Jr. When Sam had come along, Frank had tried to get back in Mary's good graces, but he made the mistake of telling her that he would be proud for her second son to have his name. John lost it completely and so did Mary, but she told her father that a promise was a promise, and her youngest would have his grandfather's name, Samuel, after John's father, and Francis after him. He was not happy. She told her father that if Dean wasn't worthy of the name, then neither was Sam. That had been the last time John had seen Frank until Mary's memorial service. Shortly after that, John left with the boys.

"John, I know it's a lot to ask, but they're all I have left of Mary."

"Against my better judgement, and for Mary, I will say yes, but the boys have to agree." The only reason that John was agreeing to this was because he felt Mary would have wanted it.

"I can live with that," Frank said.

"Sam knows the truth, but I saw no reason to tell Dean that his grandfather rejected him. He's been through a rough time lately and he's just starting to get back to his old self. If they agree, don't you **dare** mention anything that happened between us in front of Dean. Dean also has a hard time talking about his mother, so if he doesn't want to, you don't push. You test me on this and I will make you regret it, understand?" John demanded.

"Yes. I know you probably don't believe me, but I regret what I did," Frank offered.

"Okay, give me your number and I'll talk to the boys and get back to you," John said.

Frank gave John his cell phone number and John could not believe what he just agreed to do.

"_Must be getting soft in your old age, Johnny boy," _John commented to himself. He then made his way back to his boys.

Sam and Dean saw their father talking to the strange man and they wondered who he was. Dean was getting ready to go make sure his father was okay when the two separated.

"Hey, dad, who was that?" asked Dean as their father returned to them "Are you okay?"

"Yes, son. That was someone who wants to meet you. I told him I would talk to you boys and get back to him."

"Who, dad?" asked Sam.

"Francis Jackson, your grandfather."

Sam and Dean both stared at their father. They were speechless.

A/N I hoped you liked this chapter. Please read and review.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Disclaimer- Still don't own them, still wish I did. I promise to return them when I am done playing. I just can't guarantee what shape Dean will be in though.

A/N Again I want to say a huge thank you to Soar for all her beta work, any mistakes are mine.

"Yes, son. That was someone who wants to meet you. I told him I would talk to you boys and get back to him."

"Who, dad?" asked Sam.

"Francis Jackson, your grandfather."

Sam and Dean both stared at their father. They were speechless.

"Our what?" asked Dean.

"Dad, you said that he wanted nothing to do with us," Sam added.

"I know, Sam, I was shocked as well, but he seems to have a life full of regrets."

"Did you know he was going to be here?" asked Dean. He was suspicious and he wondered if this was his father's way of getting him to talk about his mom.

"No, son, I swear. I promise, I had no idea. If I had known, I would have waited until tomorrow. He was the last person I expected, or wanted to run into."

"Then why is it even an issue that we have to meet this guy?" asked Sam. "I don't want to. He's the one who rejected us. You aren't going to order us are you?"

John's first thought was _That's my boy!_ Sam knew the real story behind the reason they had no contact with Mary's parents. Sam was defending his brother, even if Dean didn't know it.

"What about you, Dean? It's completely up to you. No pressure."

Dean didn't answer right away.

"I don't know," he said hesitantly. "Do you think that... I mean would, um, would..."

Dean couldn't find the words, but John knew what his son was thinking and finished the thought for him.

"I want you to do what **you **want to do. Please don't make this decision based on what you think your mom would or wouldn't want you to do. Do what feels right for **you,** son."

"I ah... I want... I'm not sure." Dean said finally.

John did not want Dean getting upset over this, so he decided to change the subject, something he knew that would give Dean the emotional lift he needed.

"Hey, kiddo, we're in no hurry, okay. You don't have to decide this right now. It's a lot to think about. How about we get a hotel room and check out some potential leads for a hunt? You can think this over and decide when you're ready."

As mixed up emotionally as Dean was about his grandfather, he was also he was also secretly ecstatic that his only wish in life was coming true, even if it was temporary. He, John and Sam were a family again and they were going hunting. A huge grin lit up his face.

"Time to let evil know that the Winchester's are back in the game. Let's go kick its ass."

They checked into a local Super 8 motel. Sam quickly booted up his laptop, leaving Dean and John to scour the local papers. Unfortunately, there weren't too many leads. There was one story about the death of a couple. They had a nine year old son who claimed that it was the work of an invisible killer. It wasn't much of a lead, but it was better than nothing. They all decided it was worth checking into.

THE NEXT DAY

John dropped the boys at the local library to do some background research.

"What are you going to do, dad?" questioned Sam.

"I am going to meet with Frank. We will be at Jackie's Diner, it's on the main street in town. I mean it boys, no pressure. You want to meet him, you can meet me there. If you don't, then give me a call on my cell when your're done. It's totally up to you."

"Why you're even giving him the time of day, dad, I'll never know," Sam stated defiantly.

"With everything that's happened recently, I realized that life's too short to hold a grudge. When I first met the man, he was very intimidating. Yesterday, he reminded me of me after your mother... um your mother died. Mary was everything to him. He told me that he retired last year and to me he looked like a man who had lost everything."

"I thought you said his wife was still alive," Sam said.

"She is, but even your mother would agree that she is a cold hearted bitch," John commented.

"Is she really that bad?" Sam asked curiously.

"Yes, Sam, she is," John said.

"I still don't understand why you want to associate with either of them," Sam muttered sullenly.

"We all do things in life that we aren't proud of, Sam. I made a lot of mistakes with you and your brother, but you both forgave me," John replied.

Sam couldn't think of anything to say to that. His dad made a good point but Sam was still angry over what his dad had told him.

Dean had been listening to their conversation. He knew just want to say. "If you two are done with your chick flick moment, we got work to do."

"Shut up, jerk," Sam replied affectionately.

"Bitch," came the expected response.

"BOYS!"

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John had called Frank the night before and set up the meeting. John had meant what he said, he was willing to give Frank the benefit of the doubt. Frank was disappointed that Sam had declined to meet him, but he was hopeful his other grandson would come around. John spotted the man and joined him in the booth that Frank was already sitting in. He gave his order to the waitress who appeared quickly at his side. The silence was awkward at first, neither really knew how to start the conversation.

"I wish Dean was here," John commented finally. "He would have some perfect smart alec remark to break the tension."

Frank chuckled at that. "John, I want you to know I really do appreciate you meeting me here. It means a lot to me. I have so many things I wish I could take back and do over again."

"I do too, Frank, and that's the reason I agreed to this," John said.

"Will you tell me about the boys? What are they doing now? What do they like to do? Their hobbies and interests?" Frank asked eagerly.

"They're the best sons a man could ask for. Where to start? Hold on, I got an idea, I'll be back in a minute." John exited the diner to retrieve a medium sized box out from the car.

"What's that?" Frank asked John.

"It's what I call my memory box. It's filled with keep sakes from the boys that I collected over the years," John replied.

For the next hour, John showed Frank birthday and father's day cards the boys had made for him over the years, and some photos from the boy's youth. He told Mary's father some stories, edited of course, from their childhood. He told Frank about Dean's love of cars and Sam's love of books. Then he showed Frank a hospital bracelet from a time when Dean was seven.

Frank looked solemnly at John. "I had a heart attack last year, that's why I retired, had to have bypass surgery. It was the most painful thing I ever went through and I'm an old man. I couldn't even begin to think of what the prospect of open heart surgery was like to a kid."

"It was rough, Frank, but Dean's a tough kid. He came through it like a champ," John said proudly.

A few months after Dean had been born, doctors had discovered he had a hole in his heart. Back in 1979, it was a huge operation to fix it. At first, it didn't seem to cause Dean any complications and given Dean's health after he was born, the doctors did not think that he would survive the operation. They decided to wait until they had no choice but to repair it. It was after Dean turned seven and John had really started training him that it started to bother him, and it had to be repaired.

Next, John showed Frank some old report cards and a couple of school projects. When Frank looked at Dean's old report cards, John knew what Frank had to be thinking. After Dean's premature birth, the doctors had told John and Mary that if Dean survived, he would most likely be both physically and mentally impaired.

"Sam was like his mother." John commented. "He loved school. Dean on the other hand, did not. He is smart though, Frank, very smart, just like Sam. It's just that he..."

"Just didn't apply himself," finished Frank.

"How did you know I was going to say that?" John asked in surprise.

"Mary was the same way at first," Frank said.

John was shocked and Frank didn't miss it.

"Her mother felt that Mary didn't need to do well in school, she just had to be smart enough to get a rich husband. I wanted my daughter to succeed, so we had long talks about her school work. Thank God she came around," Frank explained.

"When Dean was 15, we found out that he had dyslexia. Here's his report cards after that, his grades started to improve. He graduated with honors. Dean is really good with math and numbers. Here's proof." John handed Frank a copy of Dean's acceptance letter and full scholarship offer to MIT.

"That's really impressive," Frank said in genuine awe.

"Sam, he was a genius from the start. Straight A's on every report card. He also got offered a full ride to Stanford. You have to read this essay this Sam wrote," John said, handing Sam's early works over to Frank, pleased to have someone to share his paternal pride with.

Frank read Sam's essay, it was far better than any 9 year old should have been able to write. It was entitled 'My Brother, My Hero'.

"Did you know that Sam actually got in trouble over that essay?" John commented.

"How? It's so good." It was Frank's turn to be surprised.

"That was the problem. The teacher didn't believe he wrote it, called me to the school and everything. Then she had the nerve to try to tell me that there was no way Sam could have felt that way about his brother. Said she had an older sister that didn't want her around and treated her like she was a pain so I must have wrote it about the way I wished things were between my sons," John commented.

"What did you do?" Frank asked.

"I couldn't help myself, I was in a really foul mood at this point and it just came out. I told her it shouldn't come as a big surprise her sister treated her like that, she was a pain. I then not only told her she was jealous of my boys' relationship, but that she shouldn't accuse Sam of cheating just because she was upset that he was smarter than she was."

"You didn't?" Frank chuckled.

'I did. She just kind of looked at me. That shut her up. Then I went to the principal and had Sam transferred out her class." John smiled in remembered satisfaction.

"That sounds like something Mary would have done," Frank said wistfully, a sad smile playing about his lips.

"She was like a mother bear when it came to people she loved," John commented.

"That's why Sam didn't want to see me, isn't it? You said he knew the truth, I insulted his brother."

"Yes. Frank, I know you never liked me, but can I ask you why? Why did you reject Dean?"

"I have no real explanation. It was never about you, John, or Dean. Mary stood up for what she believed in, I wish I could say I did the same. I was a weak fool." Frank rubbed a hand over his wrinkled forehead.

"You ran a major finance company. You're an extremely powerful man, how could you say you're weak?" John asked, trying to understand.

"I'm strong in business. It was the expectations of my parents. My father and my wife's father were good friends. They felt it would be beneficial if we merged our two households. It was politely suggested that we marry. I never really got along that well with Margaret, but she wanted a wealthy husband so she agreed. I didn't, but my dad was not someone you said no to. I wanted to make him proud so I went along with the arranged marriage and that is what it was. Margaret did not want kids, but my father told me that I had to have the family name carried on, so I pushed and eventually she did agree to have one, mainly, because one of our neighbour's gave a huge party with all the right social contacts. Margaret was beyond humiliated and furious when she didn't receive an invite. I pointed out that it was the Mortenson's son's birthday party and that is when she caved. When we first found out that Margaret was expecting, the first thought that came to me was 'daddy's little girl.' My father was disappointed when Margaret had a girl and he let me know it. I was upset that I let my father down, but I wasn't upset with my daughter, she was my princess. Margaret didn't really care what we had, she was now on the invite list."

"My daughter was such a kind soul and a lot of people took advantage of her, and when I first met you, I thought that you were another one. Then I came to realize that you truly cared about her, but for me no one was good enough for my little girl. When I found out that Mary was having a son though, I saw it as another chance to redeem myself in my father's eyes and when Dean was born, all I could hear was my father's voice, that I'd lost another chance to make him proud. I should have had faith in my daughter. She was right about Dean. I just couldn't stand up to an old man. Just once in my life I wanted to do something that would please him. When Sam was born, I thought once again it was my chance. I didn't even think about how it looked to you or Mary. I just wish I could have that moment to do all over again. Pathetic excuse, I know." Frank sighed heavily and his head dropped forward.

"You really did like me?" John couldn't hide his surprise, he had always been under the impression that Frank despised him.

"Yeah, believe it or not I did. What about Dean, any chance he'll see me?"

"I really don't know. He had a really hard time with his mother's death. I don't know if he's ever really dealt with it. I don't want to pressure him, he's been through a rough spot like I said," John explained.

"He didn't say no. I'll hold on to that. How long are you and the boys here for?" Frank queried.

"I'm not sure," said John, thinking about the hunt.

"While you're in town, we should take Dean's acceptance letter and go show it to Dr. Keeping," Frank proposed.

John just looked at Frank. Dr. Nathan Keeping was a friend of both Frank and his wife and he had been Mary's obstetrician. "Why?"

"He's the one who was convinced that Dean would be mentally challenged. The pompous, arrogant jerk wanted to go to MIT but couldn't get in. Let's go show him Dean did," Frank said with a spark of excitement in his eyes.

John got a twinkle in his eye that had not been there in a very long time. He couldn't believe that this was Mary's father. "I'm an adult and that sounds like something a teenager would do, but for the life of me, I can't think of anything I would enjoy more. I really hated that guy."

As John and Frank were making plans to do just that, they heard the group of girls comment, "Oh my lord, did you see the guy that just came in. He is SOO cute."

It caused John to look up and he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Dean coming toward them.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Disclaimer- Still don't own them.

While John was meeting with Frank, Sam and Dean were researching the area, trying to find out what might have killed that young couple or rather, Sam was researching anyway.

"What do you think, Dean, is it Medusa?"

Dean looked up from the history book he was reading. "I'm not sure, could be."

"Medusa doesn't exist," Sam pointed out dryly.

"Sam, what are you talking about?" Dean looked at his brother, his brow crinkled in confusion.

"What's up with you, Dean? I mean, I know that research isn't your favourite thing, but you've been re... staring at that same page for the last half hour." Sam had to stop himself from saying reading. Dean was dyslexic and had to concentrate when he was reading. As a result, he was not very fast. Even if Sam had meant it as a joke, he knew that Dean would not see it that way.

"Have not," Dean explained.

Sam reached over and grabbed the book.

"HEY!" protested Dean.

"Tell me what it said," Sam demanded.

"Okay, I have no idea, are you happy?" Dean muttered grumpily.

"What's up with you? Is it about our grandfather?" asked Sam.

When Dean didn't answer, Sam knew he was right on the money. Dean grabbed the book back from Sam and went back to staring at it.

"I wouldn't give him the time of day, Dean. He thought we weren't good enough for him. Why should he be good enough for us?" Sam's voice took on a petulant whine.

"I didn't say I wanted to see him," Dean pointed out, his arms folded defensively in front of him.

"You also didn't say you didn't want to either," Sam said, eyebrows arched expressively.

"Dad makes a good point, Sammy. He did things he wasn't proud of. We both forgave him" Dean reasoned.

"Dean, the man disowned us," Sam responded heatedly.

"Think about it, Sammy. Dad said that mo… mom was his pride and joy. What if he saw dad as taking her away, kind of like Dad saw college taking you away? He couldn't protect you there, so it came out as anger. What if our grandfather had the same reaction? His little girl was leaving."

"That doesn't explain why he wanted nothing to do with us. We're his grandsons." Sam wasn't going to accept his grandfather easily.

"Maybe he didn't know how to fix things. You and Dad said so much stuff to each other you didn't mean. Neither one of you knew how to take it back," Dean offered to counter Sam's argument.

"But Dean, one of the things that got under your skin the most was people looking down on us for not having money. That's what this guy did."

"I know, but he's family." Dean's eyes betrayed his longing at the thought of having a family united.

Sam decided not to comment because he knew that only in Dean's mind would that make sense. When it came down to it, that was the heart of the matter, Dean's number one priority. Family was everything to his brother and Sam knew that no matter what it did to him, or asked of him, Dean would take it. There was nothing he wouldn't do, or couldn't forgive when it came to family. The worse thing about it was that the family that Dean was so devoted to gave him nothing in return. Even worse, the ones who shared the most guilt for this were himself and his father. It had taken Dean almost dying to make them realize this. Sam and John's stroll down memory lane, when Dean was in a coma, made them realize just how much they had taken him for granted. For once in their lives, they were making every effort to put Dean first.

Dean had made a lot of progress emotionally these last few months, but Sam knew that he still had along way to go. Sam knew what Dean wanted, but he was worried that if the meeting didn't go well, or worse, Dean found out what had happened after he was born, he was going to have a major set back. However, Sam had promised to put his brother's needs ahead of his own. He reached over and once again grabbed Dean's book.

"Sam, there's another copy on the shelf if you want it that bad," Dean pointed out dryly.

"Go," Sam said.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.

"It's obvious that you've made up your mind. You want to see him, so go, I'll finish up here. We both know you're going to get nothing done," Sam offered his brother a small smile.

Dean stood up and then started to walk away. He got a few feet before turned and looked at his brother.

"Um, Sam, thanks," Dean murmured softly.

"Don't mention it," Sam replied. "Now get out of here."

"Call me or dad when you're done." Dean paused for a moment longer, watching his brother, before he turned away again.

Dean left the library and walked the short distance to the main street where the diner was. All the way there Dean was having an internal battle with himself. _Was he doing the right thing, would this man like him, what if he wasn't good enough? But Dad was there, and there was the whole argument that he gave Sam. He is family._ Shortly after, he found himself at the diner. Part of him wanted to run and part wanted to stay. Before he could change his mind, he walked into the diner and saw his father and grandfather. They seemed to be sharing a laugh about something and Dean allowed himself to relax slightly.

"Hey, son," said his father as he shifted over to let Dean sit next to him.

"Hey, Dad," Dean greeted him as he sat down. He signalled the waitress and ordered coffee.

"Hi. You must be Dean," the older man addressed the young hunter.

"Yeah, um hi, ahh I'm not sure what to call you," Dean murmured, a red flush lightly staining his cheeks.

Frank was surprised. He hadn't thought either of his grandsons would ever agree to see him, then he remembered John's warning. He'd blown it with Mary and he was getting a second chance, he wasn't going to mess it up.

"Frank is fine, or whatever you're comfortable with."

"Sounds good," replied Dean.

"Your dad's told me a lot about you," Frank offered.

"All good I hope," Dean said, cracking a small smile.

John watched his son. To anyone else, Dean's comment would have sounded like a joke. However, he knew that Dean's words were serious and that right now, Dean was on edge, he wanted to make a good impression. One wrong word was going to cause Dean to bolt and like Sam, John was worried. Had he made another mistake? If this did not go well, John did not know how much more his son could take. He was really starting to curse himself for this idea. He was such an idiot.

"Yeah, all good. No worries. He was showing me some of his keep sakes." Frank was smiling as well.

"What were you guys laughing at when I came in?" Dean asked.

Frank looked to John, he wanted to do this right. John understood what Frank was doing, he wanted to know if it was okay to tell Dean what they were discussing. John gave a small shake of his head. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Dean was insecure about his intelligence. He didn't want Frank mentioning to Dean that they had just been discussing that very subject.

"Your dad was telling me about the time he took you guys to Cedar point and that clown scared your brother, and how you turned and kicked it for having the nerve to scare your brother. Good for you. I hate clowns," Frank said.

"They are truly evil things," agreed Dean.

John breathed sigh of relief that Frank had understood what he was trying to say. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. For a short while afterwards, they made small talk about sports, the weather and movies. When Frank mentioned he had really enjoyed Daredevil, who was his favourite comic book hero, it sparked a lively debate in which Dean had to defend Batman's honor. John stuck up for the Lone Ranger and since Sam wasn't there to defend his superhero, they thoroughly trashed Spiderman.

John could not believe how relaxed Dean had become in this last half hour. He seemed to be truly enjoying himself and John was surprised at how much he was enjoying himself as well. He heard his phone ring and he stepped past Dean who slid out of the booth to all him out.

"Excuse me," said John as he took a call from Sam.

"_I'm done here."_

"We'll be there shortly, okay," John said.

"_Dad, how's it going? Is Dean okay?"_

"Dean's fine and it's going surpisingly well."

"_Good, I was worried."_

"Me too, Sam, but so far so good. You find anything?"

_"Couple of things. I'll wait for you guys so I don't have to go through it twice."_

"Great, see you soon," John said ending the call, then he walked back to the booth.

"Dean, we have to go," John said as he reached his son and father-in-law.

"Okay, dad," Dean acknowledged without argument.

"John, how long are you going to be in town?" Frank asked. He hoped it would be for awhile, he wanted to get to know Dean better and maybe give Sam a chance to come around.

"I'm not sure," said John. It depended on the hunt, not that he was going to tell that to Frank.

"I'd like to meet again, if that's okay with you, Dean. Your father tells me you're into cars. I have a whole garage full of classics, if you'd like to see them."

"Is that your '69 mustang in the parking lot?" Dean asked.

'Yup."

"She's a beauty. Can I dad?" Dean turned eager eyes to his father.

"If you want, Dean," John said, although he was not really sure how he felt about the idea of going to Frank's place. He wanted to keep Dean as far away from Margaret Jackson as he could. However, John could tell that Dean really liked the idea.

Dean was shocked. For some reason he could not explain, he felt a connection to his grandfather. The last time he had felt like this was when he met Bobby. He wanted to go see his grandfather's cars, but he also wanted to hunt with his father and brother.

"Can I call you, Frank, set up a time?"

"I'd like that, Dean." He gave his grandson his phone number.

"Dean, here's the key's, can you go start the car," John said, handing the keys to the Impala over to his son.

"'Kay," Dean said and then he left.

"John, thank you for this," Frank said, turning to his son-in-law.

"You should be thanking Dean for being the type of person he is," John said, a hint of remembered anger touching his voice at the memory of Frank's rejection.

"He is a fine boy, John," Frank said. "I wish to God I had that moment to do over again."

"It's in the past. Let's make sure it stays there, okay?" John's tone was light, but Frank could read the warning that was there.

"No problem, and John I know what you're worried about. Margaret is out of town for the next couple of weeks, she won't be there."

"Thanks, Frank. Listen, I have to get going," John said.

"It was good to see you," Frank offered.

"You too." John was surprised at himself because he actually meant it.

Frank watched as they drove off. Like Dean, Frank had felt that connection to his grandson. He turned on his car and drove away feeling happier than he had in a long time.

I hope that you liked this chapter. Please read and review.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Still don't own them, still not making money.

A/N Once again I want to say thank you to Soar for her beta work.

John said goodbye to Frank and walked back to the car. His heart was warmed by the fact that Dean got along with Frank so well. He approached the car and got in the passenger side. John was not sure if he should bring up their meeting so he let Dean take the lead.

"You know, dad, I was thinking," Dean said breaking the silence.

"About what, son?" responded John.

"When we were kids, those few times you mentioned our grandparents and how they were snobs"

"Believe me, they came off that way when I first met them," John said wryly.

"I remember this one time, I had just turned four and..." Dean trailed off, as if he was gathering his thoughts.

John kept mute. His instincts told him that if he tried to push, Dean was not going to continue his train of thought.

"I remember that mo… um, mom had taken me skating. When we were done, we went for hot chocolate. There was this other little girl there, she was asking her mom for some as well. The mother told the little girl that after renting the skates they couldn't afford it. It was a cold day and mom bought four cups. She went to the mother and the girl and told them they screwed up our order giving us two extras and did they want them because she would hate to have to throw them out. Mom was always like that wasn't she?" Dean asked. He turned to look out the window.

"Yeah, she was. Not a mean bone in her body." John sighed heavily in remembrance.

"From the way you used to talk about her parents, I wondered if mom had to be adopted. I mean, she had to get her good qualities from somewhere. Now I know that she's not. Frank seems like a good guy. I guess he saw you as taking away his daughter and it came out as anger," Dean said softly.

John sometimes forgot how perceptive his son was, but he and Frank had discussed just that. He should not have been surprised that his son picked up on it. "Yeah, I guess we misjudged each other, and I used to wonder if Mary was adopted myself," John said. "I..."

John stopped cold when he realized what had just taken place, Dean had spoken about his mother. He usually had to be backed into a corner before that would happen and then he would get terribly upset. After what he had just revealed, John saw that Dean was in fact okay. John knew how big a breakthrough this was for Dean. He didn't care if it took a man he had despised until today for it to happen, not that John expected Dean to open up completely, he was not even sure if Dean had realized what he said. John's heart went out to his son even more.

"I am glad I got to meet the real Frank," John continued. "You're right, he doesn't seem like that bad a guy."

"What about Margaret, do you think you read her wrong too?"

"No, son. She **is **a snob. She defined the very word, trust me on this okay, kiddo? Frank said that she's out of town and Dean, I want you to promise me something. If you do meet her, **do not **take anything she says to heart okay? She's a bitter old woman who gets off on putting others down," John said looking Dean in the eyes to emphasise his point.

"She can't be that bad," Dean stated.

Once again, John was reminded of how much Dean was just like Mary. She had looked for the good in everyone.

"Promise me, Dean," John demanded emphatically.

"Okay, okay. We better go get Sam before he decides to take up permanent residence and the librarian decides to adopt him," Dean said quickly changing the subject.

Dean started the car and they went to pick up Sam. They found him waiting for them on the front steps. Sam was glad to see that his father and brother seemed to be in good moods. He hadn't gotten as much research done as he had hoped, he was too worried about Dean. He wanted to get his father alone and grill him about that meeting.

They drove back to the motel and Sam filled them in on what he had learned.

"I found out that the couple, Paul and Anna Connell, had not been living in the house long. The house was actually custom built. They apparently bought the old one really cheap and then had it torn down. They got it cheap because the previous owners, David and Shelly Williams, were killed there. I guess they thought that they could get rid of the bad memories. Like the Connells, the Williams also had one child, a son, and he was nine as well. They were killed in the same manner as the Connells. Before the Williams, the house was owned by Mitchell and Wilma Smith. Once again, they had a nine year old son and they were killed as well. That's as far back as the records went. Apparently, there was a fire in their storage room and they lost everything that hadn't been put on computer. We're gonna have to check the town records, I'm willing to bet there's more."

"This is definitely our type of gig. It sounds like a spirit. Now we just have to figure out how far back it goes and then salt and burn the bones," said Dean.

"We also have to figure out why," John added. "I mean, what are the chances that every time the house was sold, it was sold to a couple who fit the profile? Sam, did you find out who the real estate agent is? We are going to have to talk to them."

"It's a local company called Blackburn Realty. It's run by a guy named Jeff Butler," Sam said

"Did you say Blackburn?" asked John.

"Why? You know the guy or something?" questioned Sam.

"That's the company we bought our house from. They show houses all over Kansas. It's part of the Blackburn Group. It's a major finance company and the one that your grandfather ran," John explained.

"You're kidding, right?" asked Sam in disbelief. What were the odds that the one hunt that they picked tied into the man Sam wanted nothing to do with.

"It shouldn't be a problem though, right, Dad? Frank said he was retired. It won't involve him," Dean said in a hopeful tone. He didn't want his grandfather to find out what they did for a living.

"I don't know. It shouldn't, but Jeff is the son of Conner Butler. Jeff must have taken it over from his Dad. Conner was sweet on your mother and Margaret was really pushing for the two of them. She wanted to arrange a marriage, sort of like the one between your grandparents. Jeff hated me because she dumped him faster than a hot potato after we met. Conner wasn't too thrilled either. He figured his son would take over as CEO after Frank retired," John said with a touch of pride in his voice. He smiled at the memory that Mary had chosen him over the rich guy.

"I thought that arranged marriages went out with the dark ages," commented Dean.

"Son, you'd be surprised at what takes place in the word of high finance, it's way easier dealing with the supernatural," John snorted. "The thing is, Jeff knows me. If I went there, he would probably recognize me. I gave Frank one of my pictures of you both as well. It was from the day you graduated high school, Sam. You haven't changed that much. Conner and Frank were good friends and it is possible they still are, he could end up showing Conner the picture. It's possible we could even run into Frank at the office. He would wonder why we were there."

"Maybe we should rethink this hunt, dad," Sam said.

"We can't," Dean stated with conviction. "If we stop, someone else could die. We can't let that happen."

Once again, John's first though was _That's my boy_. John knew that Dean did not share his and Sam's primary motivation for hunting. Sam and John wanted revenge, Dean wanted to help people. His number one priority was keeping families together, so that they didn't have to go through what his went through.

"Dean's right For now let's just concentrate on getting the rest of the records from the town hall and go from there. If we can find out enough information from them, we might be able to avoid the real estate office," John said.

"Sounds good," both Sam and Dean replied in unison. A big grin lit up John's face. He loved it when they did that.

John, Sam and Dean hashed out theories with each other for awhile. A couple of hours later, Dean announced he was starving and was going to get something to eat. He took the keys and left. It was the opportunity Sam had been waiting for. He grilled his father on the meeting with Frank.

"Sam, I'm telling you, this was really good for Dean. I haven't seen him so laid back in awhile. The two of them really hit it off. Do you know what happened in the car after we left?" John asked.

"No, what?" asked Sam, his curiosity piqued.

"Dean told me something he remembered about Mary. He didn't get upset or on edge about it. I think that Frank is giving your brother something that he really needs," John explained.

"What's that, Dad?"

"A chance to be himself. Think about it, Sammy, you and I both know that our whole lives, Dean has been my son, or your brother. Frank didn't know anything about Dean when he met him, no preconceived notions or expectations. With him, Dean was just Dean."

"I get what you're saying." Sam sighed. "I'm still surprised that Dean mentioned mom. I can't think of a time when he did that without having to be prompted or backed into a corner."

"Sam, after your mother died, I had such a hard time coping. Whenever Dean brought up your mother, I would get upset. Dean tried to avoid that, so he stopped mentioning her altogether," John said with regret.

"I figured that was the reason," Sam added.

"Frank spoke about Mary a few times today, and he was remembering a couple of happy times. Dean sensed that. He knows that Frank likes to talk about his daughter, therefore that gives Dean a no pressure situation. Am I making sense to you, because I'm not sure if I am even understanding what I said myself?" John asked.

Sam chuckled "Yeah, Dad, believe it or not, you are. I guess that I just don't like it. I don't want Dean to get hurt," Sam added, his tone turning serious.

"I think your grandfather's on the up and up, Sam. I know the two just met, but there was genuine affection on both sides. Trust me, kiddo, if I thought for one second he was out to hurt your brother, then I wouldn't have agreed to even ask you boys about meeting him," John said, matching Sam's tone.

"I trust your instincts, Dad, but I don't trust him. What if Dean finds out what happened though? You know what that would do to him. I don't think he could take it."

"Frank won't tell him." John replied emphatically. "He wants to be part of your brother's life, yours too if you would let him."

"Maybe when hell freezes over," Sam muttered. "Okay, so you say Frank won't tell, what about his wife?"

John felt himself fill with paternal pride at the way his boys protected each other. "Frank said that Margaret's out of town."

"I'm still worried. Margaret can't be the only one who knows the full story. What's to stop him from finding out from someone else?" Sam was not willing to let the matter drop easily.

"I'm worried too, Sam," John admitted honestly. He hoped he was doing the right thing. He hadn't stopped to think about what Sam said. How many others know (knew) the truth?

"The last time I saw Dean make a connection to someone that fast was when we met Bobby. This is something that Dean wants and I won't take it away from him."

"For Dean, I will go along with it," Sam conceded finally.

Shortly after, Dean showed up with the food. They all dug in hungrily. The conversation turned back to the hunt and they divided up the tasks they wanted to accomplish the next day. Just as they were finishing up, John's cell rang.

"Hello," answered John.

"_Hi, John, it's Frank."_

"What's up?" John asked.

"_I'm actually calling to talk to Dean, but I realized that I gave him my number and I didn't have his. Can I speak to him?"_

"Hold on." John called Dean over. "It's Frank, he wants to talk to you," John said handing over the phone to his eldest.

"Hi Frank, is everything okay?" Dean asked, a hint of excitement at speaking to his grandfather lightening his expression.

"_Things couldn't be better. I have two tickets to a charity auction. I was supposed to go with my friend Conner, but he had something come up at the last minute and he can't make it. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me."_

Dean did want to get to know his grandfather better, but he couldn't think of something he wanted to do less than go to a charity auction. He was also supposed to help his dad and brother with the hunt tomorrow. He was trying to think of a way to let Frank down gently, until he heard what Frank had to say next.

_"Oh sorry, I forgot, you're not familiar with the Blackburn Charity Group. They auction off classic cars and I got my eye on a '38 Cadillac convertible."_

Now Dean was really torn. He had a passion for cars. "Hold on, let me check with dad. Can I call you back in about 10 minutes?"

"_No problem Don't worry if you can't, I understand it's really last minute."_

Dean hung up and John could tell by the look on Dean's face that he was struggling with something.

"Dean, kiddo, you okay? What did Frank say to you?" John asked in a worried tone He looked at Sam and he just knew that his was ready to let loose the 'I told you so'.

"Dad, chill," Dean said. "We can say for sure that Frank and Conner are still friends, apparently they were supposed to go to an auction tomorrow, but Connor had to cancel. He wanted to know if I wanted to go with him. It's an auction for classic cars."

John allowed himself to relax. John guessed that Dean really wanted to go. Truth be told, John wanted to go as well. He had been to one of these auctions with Mary and the cars were works of pure beauty. John knew what Dean was struggling with, he didn't want to disappoint his father and brother by bailing on the hunt.

Sam read the situation too. He still was not comfortable with everything, but he would do anything for his brother.

"Dean, there's only so much we can do until we know the whole story. No one's in immediate danger, the house isn't even back on the market yet. Why don't you go with Frank, you hate research anyway," Sam suggested. "You'd have way more fun looking at cars. Just don't buy any, okay?"

"I agree with Sam, son. Before we get to heavily into this hunt, why don't you take a day and enjoy yourself. You deserve it," John added.

Dean knew that John and Sam were right. All Sam's research pointed to the house. No one was living there and he really did what to go see those cars. He called Frank back.

"Hi Frank, it's Dean. I would really like to go with you tomorrow."

Even though Dean couldn't see it, Frank's whole face lit up. _"Great, I'll pick you up around noon tomorrow. Do you have a suit? It is a formal event."_

"I do, but I hate it and noon's fine. We're staying at the Super 8 Motel, room 5."

"_Don't blame you. I'm tired of them, but it's the rules. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"_

"See you then, bye."

_"Bye, Dean"_

Dean looked up, he didn't miss the smirk on his father's face.

"I guess he told you about the suit did he?" John asked, his smirk breaking out into a full grin.

"You knew about that?" Dean asked sourly.

"Yeah, and the look on your face was priceless." John replied, a full belly laugh erupting from him.

"Sure, laugh it up. Just think, tomorrow I'll be surrounded by chargers and mustangs while you get ink stained fingers from old newspapers and motion sickness from the microfiche machines." It was Dean's turn to smirk.

"You're both insane, you know that?" Sam added his two cents worth.

The next day, Frank came to pick up Dean. Sam had left to get coffee, he was avoiding Frank for as long as he could.

"Morning, Frank," greeted John. "Dean should be out soon. He's just getting dressed"

Dean came out of the bathroom and Frank felt that his grandson looked rather handsome in a suit, thinking that the batman tie would was a nice addition. Dean was worried when he saw Frank looking at it, wondering whether he had made a mistake. Sam had given him the tie for his birthday, and it was his favourite"

"I can change it," Dean said.

"That's okay, you don't have to. I like it." Frank opened his coat and revealed his Donald Duck tie. "Mary gave it to me for father's day one year. It's my favourite"

John could not get over the fact that this was Mary's father. He didn't ever remember the man having a sense of humor. He watched as Frank and Dean drove off. John was with his boys on a hunt, he and Sam were continuing to get along, and Dean was more relaxed than John could remember him being in a very long time. Like Frank yesterday, John was happier than he felt in a very long time.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please read and review.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Disclaimer Still don't own them.

Dean and Frank drove toward the charity auction. The two had easily renewed the connection they had made the day before, and they laughed and joked until they reached the area where the auction was being held. Dean looked at all the fancy cars in the parking lot, there was a Mercedes, a Porsche, Cadillacs, hummers, and there were even a few limousines. Even though he had tried to stop himself, he immediately felt himself tense up. He hadn't thought about the fact that there would be lots of rich people there. What if he made the wrong impression, or did something to embarrass Frank? Would his grandfather want nothing else to do with him? How could he have been so stupid?

Frank noticed the change that had come over his grandson. "Is everything okay there, Dean?" Frank asked, not bothering to keep the concern out of his voice.

"Yeah, it just... um," Dean started. He wasn't sure how to voice his concerns.

"If you're worried about making a good impression, then don't. We're just here to have a good time, enjoy a good meal, drool over some pretty cars, raise some money for the children's hospital and to make sure I get my hands on a '38 Cadillac," Frank said attempting to reassure the younger man.

"I don't want to embarrass you." Dean said it so quietly that Frank had almost missed it.

"Get that thought out of your head, right now. You can't embarrass me, you're my grandson. Just be yourself," Frank instructed firmly.

"Alright, I'll try," said Dean, trying to convince himself.

"Dean, I want to ask you something. We'll run into people that I know and they are going to ask me about you. I can introduce you as the son of a family friend," Frank said hesitantly, his eyes searching Dean's face.

"That would be okay," Dean said softly as his face fell.

Frank didn't miss it and he cursed himself for starting it that way. "Sorry, Dean, what I really want to do is introduce you as my grandson. I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"I'd like that a lot," Dean said eagerly. "Wouldn't people wonder why I call you Frank though? Maybe just for this afternoon I can call you grandpa. That way we can avoid the questions."

Frank felt himself fill with pride and he echoed Dean's words. "I'd like that a lot."

"Ready?" Frank asked as he parked the car in an available spot.

"As I'll ever be," replied Dean.

Grandfather and grandson walked into the arena where the auction was being held. Dean's eyes practically bugged out of his head when he saw the cars lined up on the showroom floor. Frank wanted to show Dean the car that he was planning to bid on. As Dean was examining it with awe, he saw a man approach Frank.

"Jackson, you old devil. It's been awhile," greeted the newcomer.

"Hi, Ian. You're looking good," Frank replied. He turned to look over his shoulder "Hey, Dean, come here. I would like you to meet someone."

Dean walked over. Frank noted that he looked like he was walking toward his execution.

"Dean, this is Ian Felton. He and I go way back. We were roommates in college and have kept in touch throughout the years. Ian, this is my grandson, Dean."

"Hello, Mr. Felton," Dean said extending his hand. His dad had taught him some manners.

"Good to meet you, Dean, and it's Ian. Hey, Jackson, I thought you said you didn't keep in touch with your grandkids," Ian commented curiously.

"Well, they live away and you know how things get. They were in town and we decided to get together. Dean loves cars, just like me. When Conner cancelled, I figured he would enjoy this."

"Has he seen your baby yet?" asked Ian.

"We came in his mustang. Is that it?" Dean asked.

"That's his every day car. Wait 'til you see his baby. I'm still jealous. Hey, Dean, you got a special car, like Frank here?"

"Yes sir, I have a Chevy Impala, a '67."

"What's with this sir stuff, it's Ian. Mint condition?" questioned the other man. He wanted one of those.

"Yup, completely restored," Dean answered proudly.

"Care to sell? I'll give you good money."

Frank had to stop himself from laughing at the look of pure horror that came over Dean's face. You would have thought someone was asking him to sell his first born.

"Never!" Dean stated emphatically. "My dad gave it to me."

"Oh well, you can't blame a guy for trying. I wouldn't give it up either if I had one. Maybe I'll I just have a go at that '38 Cadillac. It would look nice in my garage," replied Ian, throwing a wink at Dean. He waited for what was coming next. Frank didn't disappoint.

"Ian, even gaze in her direction come bidding time and they won't find your body. I know people, I can make it happen," Frank threatened, a growl in his voice.

"I would listen to Grandpa. You never come between a man and his car," Dean explained.

"Truer words were never spoken, my boy," Ian agreed and Frank was filled with pride when Dean called him that.

Frank and Ian continued to talk and Dean let him self relax. This guy had a wicked sense of humour and Dean found himself laughing more than once.

"Now, if you gentleman would excuse me, I see a '56 Thunderbird that needs my attention. It will be mine before the end of the day, I guarantee it (full stop)"

Dean pouted. "You can't, that's the one I want. Grandpa , you promised."

This time Frank couldn't stop the full belly laughed that escaped, glad that Dean felt comfortable enough to make a joke. He was so glad that they had run into Ian first. He had really put Dean at ease.

Ian looked like he was about to cry for a second. He really wanted that Thunderbird, but if Frank was intent on getting it for his grandson, then there would be no way that Ian could stop him. Then he saw Dean and Frank's reaction and realized that he'd been had.

"Very funny. You are your grandfather's boy , that's for sure," replied Ian. It was Dean's turn to be filled with pride. "If you can convince Frank here to let me drive his baby, I might just consider forgiving the two of you."

"In your dream's, Felton," was Frank's reply.

"Work on the old man, Dean. I do have to get going. It was nice meeting you."

"You too, si.., um, Ian," Dean answered and he meant it.

"Hey, Grandpa, if it's not the mustang, what's your baby?"

"It's really better to see it, it loses something when you just say the name. If you want, when we are done here we can go by my place and I'll show it to you, okay?" Frank asked.

"You've really got me curious. Sure, I'll give Dad a call and make sure it's okay with him." Dean grinned at his grandfather.

Frank wondered why, whenever he mentioned something, Dean's first thought was to make sure that his dad would approve. When he asked Dean to come by his place, he noticed that Dean had asked John if it was okay, same with the auction and then again just now. Things were going so well between the two of them though and he was not about to risk it, so he decided not to say anything.

"I see a GTO over there, can we go check it out?" Dean asked with an excited tone to his voice.

"Sure," Frank said offering the young man a smile.

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Winifred Butler hated these types of events. She had never understood why grown men would react to a hunk of metal that way, she only ever took out her chauffeured limousine. She really wished that Conner hadn't had that damned meeting. He would have been there and she would have been spared, then she and her granddaughter could have gone shopping. This was an important social event though, and it wouldn't do for the Butlers not to be seen. She spotted Frank over by one of the cars and was instantly outraged, this was a high class event and he had the nerve to wear a tie with some ridiculous cartoon on it. She hoped that Margaret would be back soon. She would never have let Frank out of the house looking so disgraceful.

"Grandmama." Winifred turned as she heard the voice behind her and saw that it was her granddaughter, Tabitha. Her granddaughter had just turned 25 and her son Jeffery, and his wife Sophia, had asked her to bring Tabbi along to the event. This would be the perfect place for her to meet the right sort of man.

"Tabbi, darling, you shoundn't startle me like that," Winifred drawled.

"Sorry, Grandmama, but who's that with Frank Jackson?"

Winifred frowned. She didn't recognize the young man and she prided herself on knowing everyone who was anyone. Her frowned deepened when he stood up and she saw the batman tie.

"He must be new," she commented.

"I want to meet him," Tabbi said, her tone carrying her desire for immediate satisfaction.

"Now, now, Tabbi darling, I don't think he's our type."

'I don't care. I want to meet him. NOW, GRANDMAMA!" Tabbi said, on the verge of throwing a tantrum if she didn't get her own way.

"Alright, Tabbi dear, you know that Grandmama can never say no to you."

Tabbi grinned, pleased to have gotten her own way. She knew just how to play her grandmother and she always got what she wanted.

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"Oh man!" exclaimed Dean. He had just finished looking at the Aston Martin they had on display. "It's just like the one that James Bond drove."

"She's gorgeous all right. Do you want it? I can get it for you," Frank said, and then immediately wished he hadn't. Frank knew that it had cost John a lot of pride to accept help from Frank. He should have known that Dean was the same way and as soon as he saw his grandson's expression, he knew he made a mistake.

Um, no. I think… it's okay," the younger man said awkardly, a frown still marring his features.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I spoiled Mary and you're my grandson. I didn't think. Will you forgive me?" Frank begged contritely.

"Nothing to forgive." Dean waved his hand dismissively. "Thanks for the offer, but I have my own baby waiting for me. I don't think she would forgive me if I bought home another woman."

"Hello, Frank." Both turned and Dean watched as his grandfather pasted on a big, fake smile.

"Winifred, how nice to see you," Frank said in a voice that implied it was anything but.

"Hi, I'm Tabitha, but everyone calls me Tabbi," the younger girl added, directly addressing Dean.

"My name's Dean," he answered politely.

"Who is this young man, Frank. Is he a new intern?"

"No, Dean is my grandson," Frank explained.

Winifred knew that Frank's daughter, Mary, had died a long time ago and that she'd had a husband. She couldn't remember the name but she remembered how embarrassed Margaret had been when she'd found out who her daughter was marrying. She was so ashamed that she had refused to attend the wedding. If this boy was the son of that man, then she did not want her granddaughter anywhere near him. She wouldn't be suffering that type of shame.

"Dean, this is Winifred Butler. Her husband, Conner, and I are friends."

"Hello, Mrs. Butler," Dean said extending his hand.

Winifred ignored it. '"We must be going, come along, Tabbi darling."

"No! I **want **to stay and talk to Dean," Tabbi whined. Dean could have sworn that she was going to cross her arms and stomp her feet.

"Alright, Tabbi, for a little while then," Winifred sighed in long suffering patience. "Frank, how's Margaret? Will she be home soon?"

"So you're Dean," Tabbi giggled.

_"Kill me now," was Dean's first thought._

"Yes, so what's you favourite car here?" Dean asked trying to make conversation.

"I don't care about those silly things. It's a beautiful day out, I want you to come and take me for a walk. There's a beautiful garden outside and I want to see it."

"The dinner's about to start, I still have to check out the Viper and the Jaguar. You can come with me, if you want?" Dean offered hoping that she wouldn't.

"Who cares about those stupid cars. I said I **wanted **you to take me to the garden," Tabbi tried again. This was the hottest guy here and she wanted everyone to see him on her arm.

Frank watched the scene with some amusement. Tabitha Butler was a brat and he loved seeing her put into her place.

Winifred was suffering from mixed emotions. She didn't think this young man was worthy of her granddaughter, but she couldn't believe that someone would have the audacity to say no to her beloved Tabbi.

"Sorry, I don't do gardens," Dean said. "Now if my brother, Sam, was here, that would be a perfect chick thing for him, but I'm going to have to say no thank you."

Tabbi turned purple.

"Dean, you're the older one are you?" asked Winifred.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Frank, I thought the older one was called Jack?" Winifred asked in confusion.

Dean looked at his grandfather. "What does she mean? Mom said I was called Dean to avoid confusion with dad."

"Jack's a nickname for John. It was originally how your parents were going to tell the difference between you," Frank lied, silently pleading that Dean would buy his story. "Your mother's favourite movie was Rebel Without a Cause. When you were born, and did everything the doctors said you couldn't, they felt Dean was more appropriate. Your mother said it was fate that it was your father's middle name."

"Cool," Dean said and Frank breathed a sigh of relief. "Can we go see the Viper, Grandpa?"

"Sure, lead on. Winifred, Tabitha, I will talk to you later." Frank was glad to get out of there.

"Dean, I'm sorry." Frank felt the need to apologize for Winifred's snub.

"For what?" asked Dean, truly puzzled.

"For the way Winifred treated you. Don't read anything into it okay."

"I know all about snobs. Did dad tell you about my senior year of high school? Dean queried.

"Some, but I would love to hear more," Frank said, encouraging Dean.

"Just do me a favour. Keep that girl away from me. I think she scares me," Dean said laughing.

"Me too, kiddo, me too."

They left and Winifred tried to calm down Tabitha.

Dean met several of Frank's associates and friends. None were as friendly as Ian, but nowhere near as snobby as Winifred. Most fell in the middle and they were all impressed with Dean's extensive knowledge of automobiles.

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Shortly after that, the dinner started. Dean was worried at first. He was worried about prices until Frank had pointed out that it was included in his ticket. They sat at a table and Ian joined them shortly afterward. Dean got his wish about not eating something that had been microwaved at a minimart and enjoyed a delicious five course meal, while Ian kept them amused with stories about Frank's college years. Frank was glad that Dean was relaxed enough to join the conversation. Dean couldn't believe it when the Aston Martin, the first car auctioned off, went for $58,000. Frank got his Cadillac for a mere $34,000. He could have had it for $32,000, but Ian threw a bid in at the last minute, causing Frank to have to up his bid. Frank returned the favour when Ian bid on his Thunderbird, driving the price up to $28,000 from $22,000. Winifred bid on the Viper for her husband. To get revenge for her earlier snub, just as the auctioneer was about to say sold, Frank threw a last minute bid in. Ian realized what Frank was up to and he joined in. They ended nearly doubling the price before they stopped and let her have it.

After the auction, in which over a million dollars was raised for the children's hospital, Frank and Dean said their goodbyes. Dean called John to ask if he could go to Frank's place, but he got his dad's voice mail and he left a message telling his father where he was going to be. Dean couldn't believe his eyes when they arrived at Frank's house. It was surrounded by a wrought iron fence, had a yard the size of a football field, and there were tennis courts, and an Olympic sized swimming pool on the grounds.

Frank led Dean to the garage and once again Dean was like a kid in a candy store. There was a Porsche 911, a couple of old fashioned Cadillacs and a Rolls Royce to name but a few.

"Wow. If I didn't know better, I would think that I'd died and gone to heaven," Dean remarked.

"It's nice to share them with someone that appreciates them. Your father liked them too."

"Which one's your baby?"

"She would be over here," Frank said, leading Dean to another part of the garage.

Dean nearly had to pick his jaw up off the floor. There on display was a gleaming, cherry red, Ferrari Testarossa. It was then that Dean realized just how much money his grandfather had. It was a quarter of a million dollar automobile.

"She's gorgeous, Grandpa," he murmured reverently.

Frank had noticed that Dean hadn't stopped referring to him as grandpa and he hoped that he wouldn't, either. "The second most beautiful thing I ever saw. Nothing was more beautiful than your mother."

"She was pretty," Dean agreed. "Did she like cars?"

"She thought they were cool looking, but she wasn't into them. You get that from your father," Frank explained.

"I wish, I..." Dean trailed off.

"What is it?" Frank felt his concern rising again for his grandson.

"IwishIcouldremembermoreaboutmom," Dean said in a rush, before he could change his mind.

"You can ask me anything. Come on up to the house and we'll talk. Then I'll take you back to the motel, in fact, I tell you what, we'll take the Ferrari and as a special treat I'll let you drive."

Dean felt his dark mood instantly lift. "It's a deal."

They walked back to the main house and Frank told lots of stories about Mary and even a few about John that Dean didn't know. Dean didn't say much, but he enjoyed hearing about her. He did end up telling Frank that he didn't go to college, but had applied because he wanted to make his mom proud.

"You never had to make her proud, Dean, she always was. You were her son. Hold on, I have something for you."

Frank left and he came back carrying a leather bound journal.

"This is the book that you mother started the day she found out she was pregnant with you. I'll loan it to you. You can read it if you want to, but if you don't, I will understand." Frank said, handing the book to his grandson. He had received it in the mail on Dean's first birthday along with a note that Mary wanted him to know exactly what a special person her son was, and just how much he had given up because of stubborn pride. Frank had a cover story ready if Dean asked him where he got it, but he was glad when Dean didn't.

"Thanks," Dean said taking it from his grandfather with a shaking hand. "I better get back. Thanks for a great day, Grandpa."

"You don't have to call me that anymore if you don't want to." Frank felt he had to offer.

"I want to," Dean said and he meant it. "Please tell me you weren't teasing me about the Ferrari."

"I never kid about cars, that's just mean. Let's go."

Dean was in his element. They didn't go straight back to the motel. They drove around for a while. Frank knew of a private road so they went there and Frank let Dean floor it.

Dean wished he had his camera phone to capture the look on Sam and John's face when he drove up to the motel in the Ferrari. John was so jealous.

Back in their room, John and Sam filled Dean in on what they had learned and Dean told them all about his day. He described in detail every car that was there and how much each went for. Then he had John and Sam in hysterics with his imitations of Winifred and Tabitha. Later, Dean fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

Sam was truly happy to see his brother so upbeat, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that the other shoe was about to drop. He hoped he was wrong.

A/N I know nothing about cars, so I have no idea how much the ones I mentioned cost. I found their names on the internet. Also, for the next chapter, do you want to read Mary's journal along with Dean, or should I just give his reaction to it? Hope you liked this. Please read and review.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: still don't own them.

Once again a hugh thank you to Soar for all her beta work.

THE NEXT DAY

Sam, who had always been an early riser, awoke the next morning before John and Dean. Sleeping on the rollaway cot didn't help matters either, funds were tight and they really couldn't afford two rooms. John had sprung for the cot and being the youngest, Sam had ended up being the one to sleep on it. He was really too tall for it and pointed it out to his smaller, older brother. Dean had not been amused and the end result was the same, much to Sam's dismay.

He got up, had a shower and was getting ready to grab the Impala keys and head out to get them some breakfast. As he grabbed them, he saw a leather bound journal sitting next to Dean's jacket. He knew that it wasn't Dean's, his was smaller, and it wasn't his father's, there were no papers sticking out of it. Curiosity getting the better of him, he opened the cover and read the first entry.

_July 9th, 1978_

_I haven't been feeling well these past three weeks. I was really hoping that I wasn't getting the flu, because the start of the school year is right around the corner, and I have so much to prepare for the upcoming year. I really just don't have time to be sick. So I made an appointment with my doctor and he told me some wonderful news. In nine months, we will have a new addition to the Winchester family. I loved hearing the words, Mrs. Winchester, congrarulations you're pregnant._

_I could just write them over and over again, but you, my little bundle of joy, would think I'm crazy. As soon as I heard those words, I wanted to go right to John's garage and tell him the news, but I have decided to wait and make it a special night and tell him he's going to be a daddy. I just know he's going to be as happy and proud as I am to be a mommy. A mommy, I just can't get enough of that word. As soon as I left the doctor's, I went right out and bought this journal._

_I want to share this experience with you, my baby boy or girl. I intend to keep this up until your first birthday and give it to you someday. I know that right now, you're no bigger than a coffee bean, but I want you to know that I love coffee. Oops, sorry love, that didn't come out right. Maybe I should have said no bigger than a peanut, because I love those too, especially covered in chocolate. I am really getting off track here. _

_I guess this is what they mean by pregnancy cravings because right now, I have a really strong desire for coffee and peanut M&M's. I better put this down and come back later before you start to think that your mommy (yeah, get to say it again.), is a few fries short of a happy meal. Alright, Mary Winchester, you **really **have to stop with the food analogies because now I really want a happy meal along with my peanuts and coffee. _

_What time is it? Only 2 pm, 3 more hours before John gets home, screw this. I'm going to go tell him now (well after I stop by McDonald's and the convenience store). I love you, my child. Yay, got it out right this time. See, your mommy, I never get tired of writing that word, is not a fruit loop. Dammit, now I have to go to the grocery store. More later._

Sam stared in shock. This was his mother's journal.

"Morning, Sam," John said as he came over to where Sam was sitting at the table.

"Dad, where did this come from?" was Sam's response as he shoved the journal towards his father.

John looked at what Sam was holding. It looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Please tell me that's not your brother's journal because, Sam, if it is, you had better have a good explanation as to why you're reading it." One thing that John had always respected was Dean's journal, he would never have read it without his son's permission.

"It's not Dean's, dad. It's mom's."

Those were the last words that John had been expecting and his surprise showed.

"Where did you find it?" John asked in a shaky tone.

"It was here on the table, right next to Dean's jacket."

John picked it up and read the first entry. Sam watched as a mixture of joy, sadness and amusement crossed his father's features.

"I remember this. Your mother was going to make one for each of her children," John remembered fondly.

"It still doesn't explain where it came from," Sam reminded his father.

"Frank must have given it to him," explained John.

"Why would he have it?" Sam asked, confused. Why would his mother give such a thing to her father, especially with everything that had gone on?

John didn't answer, he just nodded towards a sleeping Dean and Sam understood what his father wasn't saying. It had something to do with his grandfather and the secret that both hunters were keeping from Dean.

"Do you think..." Sam trailed off. He didn't want to say it out loud because Dean had an uncanny knack for picking up things that were going on around him, even if he appeared to be asleep. "That reading it would be too much for him? What's in there?"

"I don't know, I never read it. Mary said that it was for Dean and if he wanted to share it, that was up to him. She said the same thing about yours."

"Do you have mine, dad, or does Frank?"

"No, Sam, I'm sorry. Your mother's favourite place to write was beside the crib. It was in your nursery."

Sam glanced at Dean's book and couldn't help but feel a little bit of jealousy. He wanted to hear what his mom had to say about him.

John was watching Sam and once again he felt an overwhelming sadness for all the memories that had burned along with Mary that long ago night.

"Sam, you may not be able to read her words, but she loved you, with her whole heart and soul, never doubt that, okay?"

"I know that, Dad. Could this thing hurt Dean though?" Sam asked. He wanted to change the subject.

"No, I don't think so. Mary fully intended for Dean to read it one day," John reasoned.

"Read what?" came the mumbled response from behind them. "It's too early to read. You guys want to give it a rest and let a man get some sleep?" Dean had a feeling that his father and brother had found the journal that Grandpa had given him the day before. He really wanted to read it, he just didn't know if he was ready to. Grandpa had told him to take his time, that he could have it for as long as it took him to be comfortable with it.

"Good morning, son," John greeted.

"Whoever came up with that expression needed to have their head examined. Name me one good thing about mornings? Wake me at a half decent hour would you?" Dean rolled over and pulled the covers back over his head.

"Time to get up now, Dean, we have a lot to get done today," John said as he pulled the covers away from his son.

"Tell me there's coffee at least?"

"I was just going out for breakfast," Sam said.

"Sam, get one scratch on my car and you're a dead man," Dean growled.

Sam left the motel room. He had volunteered to go for breakfast because he wanted to make a pit stop. Sam was still very uneasy about this whole situation. Dean would react badly if he ever found out about Frank's rejection, and the fact that in these last couple of days Dean had made a connection to their grandfather would make it much worse. John was convinced that Frank truly cared about Dean and would not say a word, and while Sam usually trusted his father's instincts, he just couldn't bring himself to trust Frank. He wanted to see for himself if the man was on the up and up, only then would he rest easy. So as much as he did not want to be in the same room with the man, he felt that it was time to meet with Frank Jackson.

Dean had told them where Frank lived so Sam drove over there. He pulled up to the gate and when he gave his name, he was buzzed in immediately. Sam, like Dean the day before, was in awe as he took in the grounds and the house, but he didn't let that deter him from his mission.

He was shown in by the butler and it wasn't too long before Sam was standing face to face with his grandfather.

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Frank had awoken that morning happier than he could remember being in a long time. He was so glad that Conner had cancelled on him, because he'd had a much better time with his grandson. He knew that once Conner found out how much he had paid for his car, he was not going to be pleased, but Frank didn't care. Maybe next time Winifred would think twice about insulting Dean.

Frank smiled at the memory of Dean turning down Tabitha and his boyish pleasure around all the fancy automobiles. He wanted to learn everything he could about his grandson. Some things were a mystery to him, like how he had noticed that Dean asked John's permission before he did anything. There was also the necklace that he'd noticed the young man wearing. He had seen it in the diner, and when they had arrived here yesterday and Dean had loosened his tie and collar, Frank had gotten a glimpse of the string that it was tied on. He did ask Dean about it during their talk, but Dean had said that it was a long story and changed the subject.

And what about the Impala? John had had it from the day they met and he took excellent care of it. John had said that he had given it to Dean and he had a feeling that his grandson took care of it just as carefully as John had. Why did he tell Ian that it had been fully restored? What was this rough spot that Dean had gone through? John had mentioned it but never elaborated. Most importantly, during their talk yesterday, Frank had picked up on the fact that Dean had a hard time believing that his mother was proud of him. Why would he even question that, or think he had to prove himself to her?

He was startled out of his memories when he heard the buzzer.

"Mr. Jackson, there is a Sam Winchester here to see you."

"Miles, are you sure it's Sam, not Dean?" Frank asked his butler.

"Yes sir, he said his name was Sam. Is it okay to buzz him through?"

"Of course," replied Frank. Why would Sam be coming to see him, had he had a change of heart?

Frank went down to the living room and he saw his younger grandson waiting for him.

"This is a pleasant surprise, but I get the feeling this is more than a social call," Frank said wryly, noting Sam's demeanour.

"You're right," Sam said, his chin rising defiantly. "To be honest, this is the last place I want to be, but we have to talk."

"Your want reassurance that I'm not out to hurt Dean."

"Yeah, and I want to know the deal with mom's journal. Why do you have it? What's in it and why did you give it to Dean?"

"Please sit. I'll tell you everything. Do you want anything?" Frank asked politely.

"Just answers," Sam said bluntly.

Frank started off by telling Sam everything he had told John in the diner, about wanting to please his father and not being about to stand up to him. "Sam, your brother and I talked about Mary last night. He told me about MIT and how he felt the need to make Mary proud. I told him that she was, but I got the feeling that he didn't believe me. I gave her journal to Dean because I felt he might believe it if Mary told him. I've read it, Sam, many times. There is nothing in there about me not wanting him to have my name."

"That still doesn't explain why you have it," Sam stated.

"There was a note attached to it when I received it. Hold on I'll get it."

Frank left and returned shortly. He handed the note to Sam

_Dad,_

_Enclosed is a journal that I have kept since the day I found out I was pregnant with Dean. You are probably wondering why you are receiving this, given the nature of what it contains, and that Father, is the exact reason you are getting this. I want you to know exactly what a special person your grandson is. These pages are the only way you are going to get to know my baby boy because of your stubborn pride. Dad, I get that you may not have thought John was good enough for me, in your eyes, no one is. I'm your little girl and, as a mom, I can tell you no woman will be good enough for my Dean. _

_What I will never understand, or forgive, is how you could think that Dean wasn't good enough for you, he's my son and that alone should have been enough. You always told me to have faith. I have faith in my son, he would have done the Jackson name proud, of this I have no doubt. When Dean was born, everyone at the hospital, doctors, nurses, even friends told me to prepare myself, he wasn't going to survive. I thought nothing could hurt more than that. I was wrong. That my own father could reject my son, cuts just that much deeper. To you, it shouldn't have mattered whether Dean was going to live or not because he is your grandson and you should have been honoured that he had your name. This journal was supposed to be a gift for my son, but I think you need it more. Through this book, you will get to know Dean, and when you "meet" your grandson, I hope you realize just how much pride costs._

_Mary._

"She was right, Sam. I had no contact with Mary for the next three years. We ran into one another by accident. I was on the board of trustees at the hospital and your mother was there. She was pregnant with you. I wanted a second chance. I asked her if we could talk, I knew that she wouldn't forgive me and that things would never be the same between us, but I missed my daughter. We slowly patched things up and when you were born, I came to the hospital to see you. I vowed not to make the same mistake twice, but instead I made a much bigger one. I asked Mary if she was going to name you Jackson. I saw another chance to make my dad proud and I told her I would also be proud if you had the name. Mary had such an easy pregnancy with you. You were born healthy and to Mary and John, it looked like I had picked you over Dean. Sam, I swear, even if you had been born with complications like Dean was, I still would have asked Mary to give you my name. You don't have to believe me and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. Your mom got even angrier and told me never to come back. That was the last time I saw my daughter. I have so many regrets, Sam. I will never get a chance to make things right with Mary. You will never know how grateful I am that your father is giving me a chance to make things right with her sons."

This was the first time Sam had heard Frank's side of the story and he wasn't sure what to say, but he was sure of one thing.

Sam handed the note back to his grandfather. "Burn it," Sam requested. "If Dean is going to be coming here, then there can be no chance he will ever find this."

"I keep it as a reminder. He won't see it," Frank promised.

"If Dean ever found out, do you know what that would do to him? He can't find out. Any piece of evidence just means there's a much greater chance of it happening. Burn this." Sam repeated, his tone implying that it was a statement, not a request. "You don't need it anymore."

Sam saw Frank's hesitation and he realized he needed to make his point clearer.

"I'm serious. Nothing is more important to my brother than family. Whether I like it or not, he has made you a part of ours. Once that happens with Dean, it's for life. There is nothing you can do right now that he won't forgive and that includes this whole name business. If he finds out the truth, he won't blame you. He will blame himself for not being good enough, and that is why he can't find out. So get rid of that note. I mean it, Frank," Sam stated emphatically once more.

"Alright, Sam, I'll get rid of it," Frank agreed. He didn't need it anymore, he had Dean, and right now that was everything. There was no way Frank wanted to risk the truth coming out and with that, he tore the note in two and threw it into a trash bucket. "Sam, can I ask you something?"

"Depends," Sam responded warily.

"Why would Dean blame himself, he was just a baby?" Frank asked hesitantly.

Sam thought for a moment before answering. "It's really not my place to tell the whole story, but I will say that Dean grew up fast after Mom was killed. He took on a lot of adult responsibility, most times without being asked. A kid can't do what an adult would be able to, so most times he couldn't live up to his own expectations. There was this one time, Dad got hurt and he couldn't work, we had no money coming in. Dean had been working a part time job and gave Dad all his savings, but it didn't go far. Do you know what he did?"

"No, your dad never told me this story."

"Dean went out and got a second part time job. He worked nightshift during the evening, trying to keep things going."

"What does that have to do with Dean blaming himself for things?" Frank asked.

"I guess I forgot to mention that Dean was 17 at the time, so he was working all evening and all night and going to school during the day."

"When did he sleep?" Frank asked.

"He didn't really, maybe an hour or two a day. Dad and I had no idea about what he was up to until we got a call that Dean had been taken to the hospital, because he'd collapsed from exhaustion. The only thing Dean saw was that he'd failed to take care of us."

Frank was floored by the admission. "I'm guessing that's why he feels he has to make his mom proud. There's something else I want to ask about. Please, Sam, don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way if I'm totally off base."

"What is it?"

"To me, it seems that Dean has a lot of the characteristics of an abused child, the way he asks his father if it's okay before doing something, as if he's afraid to upset him. Then there's the whole guilt thing, like if something goes wrong, the way he doesn't like to talk about things, the way he is so super protective of you. I picked that up from our talk yesterday. You are the one thing he talks a blue streak about. Sam, did John hit Dean?" Frank asked hesitantly.

Sam's initial reaction was to get angry. John Winchester was about as far from the perfect father as you could get, but the one thing that Sam never doubted was that they were loved, and John would shoot himself before he laid a finger on his boys.

"No, never! Dean and dad are just really close and Dean asks out of respect. The guilt thing comes from growing up too fast. As for the reason that Dean is so protective of me, it's because he carried me out the front door the night of the fire."

"He did?" Frank was surprised. "I never knew that."

"From that moment, Dean decided it was his job and his responsibility to keep me safe, but not from Dad, he loved us. We never got along well, but I never had any doubt about that."

"Thank God for that, and thank you for not getting angry about my asking. I had to know. Sam, I know I just met Dean two days ago, but it feels like so much longer than that. I'm proud that he's a part of my life and I don't want anything to change that. I promise my intentions with your mom's journal were good."

"Yours maybe, but what about your wife?"

"Margaret?"

"Yeah, Dad's told us about her. What's to stop her from telling Dean the truth?"

"She's away for the next couple of weeks. If you're still in town when she gets back, I'll talk to her. She won't say anything."

"She better not because I swear, if you hurt Dean or she does, you're both going to regret it," Sam warned.

"I won't, Sam. I promise that on Mary's grave. Will you tell me what happened to Dean? Your dad said he was in a rough spot."

"He almost died," Sam answered with a shudder.

That was the last thing Frank was expecting. "How?"

"Car accident. We were broadsided by a de... a drunk behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler."

_Guess that explains fully restored car, Frank thought. _

"Me and dad were lucky, we escaped with cuts, bruises, and a broken wrist. Dean got the worst of it, he ended up on a ventilator and he was in a coma for three weeks. We didn't know if he was going to live or die. He was in the hospital for close to two months. Like I said, family is everything to him and when he realized just how close he'd come to losing us, it really hit him hard. The whole irony of the situation is that we were closer to losing him than he was to losing us."

Frank thought about the young man that he had come to love in the last two days. Yes, he loved his grandson and the news that he could have lost him before getting to know him struck Frank like a physical blow. He had to sit down.

Sam watched as Frank absorbed the news. He saw the man stagger and for the first time since Sam had met him, he looked like an old man. It was that reaction that made Sam realize what Frank had been saying was true. He wanted Dean in his life. Sam just wished that Margaret would never enter the picture.

"Sam, thank you for coming here and telling me this. I know it was hard for you," Frank said, his eyes rising to meet Sam's.

"It was. I want to hate you," Sam commented honestly. "That being said, I have to be honest. I can't get past the fact that you hurt my brother, even if he will never know. The only reason I can't hate you is because I would hurt Dean too, without meaning to. Don't ask, I'm not giving details. I will support Dean and if he wants a relationship with you, then I am all for it. I want to be here for my brother, so I will tolerate you. Right now, that's all I can promise."

"I can live with that, Sam," Frank responded.

"I better get going. I told Dad and Dean I was going out for breakfast, they're going to start wondering what happened to me."

Sam left and drove to the closest restaurant. When he got back, he gave a lame excuse about line ups. They seemed to accept that and they all began to eat. As they laughed and carried on, much like they had the night before, Sam allowed himself to relax slightly. He hoped everything would work out. If anyone deserved a little happiness, it was Dean.

A/N: This chapter definitely didn't turn out like I planned it. It was supposed to be Dean reading Mary's journal, but when I started writing, it took on a life of its own. Given the way I have the story planned out, I felt there was a more effective place for Dean to read Mary's thoughts a little later in the story, so don't worry, you will all get to see what it says.

Reviews are like Supernatural episodes. Highly addictive, so please feed my addiction and read and review.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Don't own, they belong to Kripke and company.

A/N:Thank you to everyone who had reviewed and also to those who are just reading. Once again thank you to Soar for her beta work.

Sam had gone to pick up breakfast that morning while Dean and John got ready for the day. John, being the oldest, got first dibs at the shower and Dean was left to take a cold one, but even that didn't dampen his spirits. He was still riding the high that he had experienced from the day before. He was really looking forward to spending more time with Grandpa.

As Dean exited the bathroom, he saw his father looking through his wallet.

"Looking for something, Dad?" Dean asked

"Just checking our resources, we're getting a little low. You and Sam want to go to the bank and see if you can make a withdrawal?" That was Winchester speak for go hustle pool.

"Sure. It's been a while since I parted some fool from their money," answered Dean.

"You up to it?" John asked with some concern in his voice.

"Stop it, Dad. I'm fine. Would you quit worrying already. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health, so give it a rest." Dean couldn't hide the irritation in his voice.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, but I'm a father, it's my job to worry."

"Know of any good places to hit?" Dean replied quickly changing the subject in typical Winchester fashion.

"There was Mike's Bar down town. You could try there," John suggested.

"Sounds good. So what's happening today?"

"I thought we could go by the Connell house and see if anything is going on. I was thinking maybe we could interview Anna Connell's sister, she lives about a half hour from here. We still have to decide what to do about the real estate office though. We need a more extensive history of the house."

"I have an idea about that. Grandpa mentioned yesterday that there's an old revival theater in town that plays old movies. The Shining is playing in the next few days. I could ask him if he wanted to go see it with me and then, because the subject is naturally on haunted houses, I could casually ask him if he knows about any strange happenings. If he ran the company that owns the real estate office, he would probably be aware of any problem areas."

"Definitely an option. I would prefer not to involve Frank in this though. So if we can't think of anything else between now and then, we'll try it. However, I see no reason why you and Frank still can't attend the movie. I know it's your favourite."

Truth be told, Dean would prefer not to involve Grandpa either, but he was filled with pride that not only did his dad think his idea was a good one, but also the fact that he even knew what Dean's favourite movie was. "Okay, do you think he would be up?"

"He always was an early riser. Give it a try."

John watched as Dean picked up his phone. He wasn't surprised to see Dean hesitate before dialing. He knew Dean was nervous about asking his grandfather to do something with him for fear he would say no. He wasn't sure if he should say something, but before he could make up his mind, he saw Dean dial. _That's my boy _was John's next thought.

Dean should never have worried, Frank was ecstatic that Dean had called him. He wasn't a big fan of horror movies, but The Shining was one he did enjoy. It didn't matter what was playing though, he would have sat through the worst movie in the world if it meant spending more time with Dean. They decided to get together and go see it when it opened, and he asked Dean if he would like to make a day of it and go to dinner before hand. Dean agreed eagerly.

Shortly after, Sam got back with breakfast and John filled Sam in on their plans, telling him about Dean's idea. Like John, Sam agreed it seemed like a good one.

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They had decided to go by the Connell house first and this caused John to curse himself for not taking Bobby up on his offer to borrow another car. He hadn't expected to be in town for more than a day or two, and he felt that they needed a second car, unfortunately they were just managing to pay for the motel and food, and he had no money to rent one. This meant that they couldn't split up the days tasks to get much more accomplished.

John was almost tempted to ask Frank if he could borrow the Ferrari. He was still envious that his son had gotten to drive one. He wondered when Frank had gotten it. He hadn't owned it the last time John had seen the man, but he knew that it was number one on the list of cars Frank had always wanted.

They went to the Connell house, but because it was broad daylight, they didn't do much other than to just drive around the area. It was located in a very upscale neighbourhood and they didn't want to attract too much attention. John had called Michelle Ames, Anna Connell's sister, to see if he could arrange an interview. He ended up getting her answering service and got the standard line about her being busy and not taking calls from reporters at this time, and if he could leave his number, they would have Miss Ames contact him when she was up to it.

Since they hadn't made much progress that morning, after a quick lunch, John drove back to the hotel and told the boys to go enjoy themselves for the afternoon. The motel was close to downtown so they could walk. After a brief discussion, they decided to go see a movie. Then the real argument started as they tried to decide which one. John said that he was going to try to go see Ms Ames in person to see if he could get any satisfaction. He actually had no intention of going to see anyone. He wanted to read Mary's journal, he just didn't want to do it front of Dean.

After the boys left, John picked up the book and opened it to the second entry.

July 10, 1978

_I was right, but then again I usually am. I went right to John's garage, okay not right to it because I had to stop by the grocery and convenience store and McDonalds, hey a pregnant woman shouldn't be denied. Needless to say, John was surprised to see me. When I gave him the news, he was soooo excited. He yelled so loud that Mike came running out to make sure he hadn't dropped a car on himself. _

_Mike was just as happy us, John immediately asked him to be your Godfather. Mike, of course, accepted immediately, I mean who wouldn't. Mike's wife, Kathy, will be your Godmother. I know you'll like them, my child, they are really good people and I know that they're going to love you as much as I do. _

_When John got home, we celebrated the news properly and then your daddy and I worked out a budget. He wants to start saving for your college fund as early as possible and he wanted to see how much he could put away. Now, no pressure there. I just know you're going to do great things, whether you go to college or not. How can you not? You're my child. _

_I am going to my father's tomorrow. I just know he's going to be as thrilled as I am. _

_I hope after you read this entry, you'll have decided that your mommy doesn't have to be committed, so I am going to close it here and leave you with this thought. I love you, my baby boy or girl, and always remember that angels are watching over us."_

John blinked back tears. He missed Mary so much.

He was just getting ready to read the next entry when his phone rang. He was surprised to see Frank's name on the caller ID.

"Hello."

_"Hi, John. It's Frank. I was wondering, I have to stop by the children's hospital to drop off some figures from yesterday's auction. Do you want to come with me and go pay a visit to Nathan, or if you don't, can I borrow Dean's letter? I really want to show it to him."_

John put the diary aside. "I want to go with you. I want to see the look on his face."

"_Do you want me to pick you up, or do you want to meet me there?"_

"I'll meet you at your place." John paused before continuing gruffly, "Can we..."

_"John, I owe you so much we'll take the Ferrari," interrupted Frank_.

John quickly drove to Frank's place and parked the car. Frank was already waiting for him by the side of the Ferrari and John couldn't keep the grin off his face as they pulled away from the estate. Frank normally wouldn't let anyone drive his baby, but John had allowed him to get his family back, so Frank decided to repay John in a way he would appreciate. He told John he could drive on the way back and John's face lit up like a kid at Christmas.

Upon entering the Wichita Children's Hospital, John couldn't stop the flood of memories that came to him. He recalled the day Dean had been born, one of the happiest and scariest days of his life.

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_"It's a boy, Mrs. Winchester," announced Dr. Nathan Keeping. _

_When Mary had begun having complications and her pregnancy had been deemed high risk, her regular doctor had referred her to Dr. Keeping. He was not only an excellent obstetrician, but a friend of Mary's mother. Upon meeting him, John had taken an immediate dislike to the arrogant man, but if he could get Mary and his son through this pregnancy, John didn't care if the man declared himself God._

_Upon hearing those words, John felt immediate fear, when he should have felt joy. He knew that when a baby was born it was supposed to cry, but he had not heard a sound from their newborn son. At seven months along, it was way too early in the pregnancy for the baby to be born. Before John or Mary could even lay eyes on their baby boy, he was whisked away, and this led to the longest 2 hours, 17 minutes and 48 seconds of John's life. _

_After the staff left with the baby, no one would tell him anything. He tried repeatedly to get them to page the doctor or just give him some news. Finally, they came to the room and made the announcement that had turned John's feelings toward Dr. Keeping from dislike, and cemented them in hatred. The words that gave John, who had served in Vietnam, the biggest scare of his life. _

_"Mr. and Mrs. Winchester, your son weighed in at a mere 3 pounds 4 ounces. He's not breathing on his own and we have him on a ventilator. With the low weight and the potential for other complications associated with premature births, I don't expect him to survive the night."_

_It was a good thing that John was sitting on the edge of Mary's bed because he would have fallen otherwise. John's heart shattered into a million pieces with those words._

_"He will," Mary said quietly and with conviction. _

_"Mrs. Winchester, I know you want to believe that..."_

_"I don't **want** to believe that, I **do **believe that." Mary stated emphatically. _

_"You need to prepare yourself, Mrs. Winchester. There is an extremely high probability that your son is going to die."_

_Mary let loose with a bunch of four letter words that could have made a drunken sailor blush, most of them directly addressed to Dr. Keeping, letting him know just what she thought about that remark._

_"You have **NO RIGHT **to say that! He is going to be fine. Just you wait and see. I want to see my son. **NOW!"**_

_**"**I know this is upsetting. I don't think you should go right now. You need to calm down," Dr Keeping said trying to diffuse the situation._

_"Was there one part of the sentence that even made it sound like a suggestion? Take me to my son, or my Daddy is going to shut down this entire hospital." John thought that he had never seen a more beautiful and scary sight than his wife enraged and battling on behalf of their son. _

_John and Mary were taken to the Neonatal ICU and for the first time since he had been born, they saw their little boy. He was still and covered in so many wires and tubes that John had a hard time seeing him through it all, still he was the most perfect thing John had ever seen._

_The nurses echoed the doctor's words and this brought forth another barrage of colorful language from Mary, words John didn't even know existed. When a well meaning doctor then encouraged the young couple to say good bye, John found himself physically having to restrain Mary from attacking him. The more people tried to tell Mary that she was going to lose her son, the more she held to the belief that he would be fine._

John thought about the journal entry he had read and about the young man his son had become. Mary was right as always, and John couldn't stop the huge grin that lit up his face

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"John, hey John, you with me?" Frank inquired.

"Sorry, I was just thinking. Being here is bringing back memories, both good and bad," John admitted.

"It had to be rough. I'm sorry I didn't make things easier for you," Frank said sincerely.

"Nothing we can do to change the past," John replied.

With that, Frank became lost in his own memories.

_He had been out of town on business when Mary delivered. He'd wanted to be there to see his grandson, but got home three days after he was born. The baby had continued to defy all odds and was still hanging in there. Frank got to the hospital and laid eyes on him for the first time_

_"Hi, dad," Mary greeted him warmly when he arrived._

_"Hi, honey." Frank wasn't sure what to say. _

_"Come meet Jackson. Isn't he the most handsome little man you ever laid you eyes on? Just don't tell John I said that, wouldn't want him to get jealous." Mary was smiling widely as she said this. _

_Frank was ashamed that when he looked at the newborn, all he saw were the machines and not the baby boy that was attached to them. _

_"Um, Mary, about his name..." Frank stammered. _

_"Jackson Winchester. Has a nice ring to it don't you think? We haven't decided on a middle name yet though."_

_"If you want, you can pick something else. Maybe Samuel, after his other grandfather. You really don't have to call him Jackson if you don't want to. I won't hold you to that promise."_

_"Dad, what's going on? You told me how much it meant to you to be able to carry on your family name, and I can't guarantee I will have another boy." Mary's confusion was written plainly across her face._

_"I do want the name carried on, but..." Frank trailed off, trying to think of a tactful way to phrase what he was thinking. He didn't want to upset Mary, but then he realized there was no way to say it nicely._

_"It does mean a lot to me and that's why I think you should pick another name. I mean, what if he doesn't make it?"_

_Frank couldn't have said anything worse. Mary recoiled as if she had been physically slapped._

_"Not you too. Doctors, nurses, I can understand, but my own father. How can you even think that? My own father." Mary looked toward her son and then back to her father. "Get out."_

_"Mary."_

_"Don't Mary me! I said get out."_

_John walked back in. He had just gotten back from the cafeteria and was coming to spell Mary. "What's going on?" he asked in a state of confusion_

_"Apparently, Daddy doesn't think our son is worthy of his name," Mary explained._

_John instantly saw red. He knew that Frank didn't really care for him, but nobody was going to hurt his boy or his wife. _

_"John, you don't have to say anything. I know what you're thinking, I'm thinking it too," Mary said as fire lit her eyes. "Fine, dad, you don't want him to have your name, then I will give him one that fits him. Jonathan Dean Winchester Jr. after his dad, because he has his strenght. Now get out and don't come back. You don't want my son in your life, I don't want you in mine."_

_"Mary, please, I didn't mean it that way," pleaded Frank._

_"No, dad, you said your piece, now get out." Mary was adamant._

_Frank left and that was the last time he saw his daughter for almost four years._

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This time it was John who called Frank out of his memories. Frank dropped off the paper work and together, they made their way to Dr. Keeping's office. They were ushered straight in to see the man himself. Dr. Keeping was happy to see Frank Jackson, the man was a pillar of local society and had made many donations to the hospital. He said hello to Frank and then he looked at John. The man looked familiar, but Nathan couldn't quite place him.

"Nathan, I was wondering if you remember John Winchester. He was married to my daughter." Frank explained that they had run into each other at Mary's grave.

Nathan stared at the man. Now he remembered him. "Your son, he was the miracle baby."

John felt his temper rise. "You don't get to call him that. You were the biggest doubter of them all. Guess Mary proved you wrong without the fancy degree."

"I was just doing my job," replied Nathan defensively.

"No, you wanted to be proven right, no matter what progress Dean made, you couldn't say anything positive. Were you rooting for him to fail so you could say I told you so?"

Frank was beginning to wonder if this had been a good idea. There was lot of resentment and time didn't appear to have hadn't diminished it any.

"You don't know what you talking about. I simply wanted you to be prepared," Nathan responded, drawing himself up and pulling on a cloak of arrogance that years of healing the sick had given him.

"It's you who didn't know what he was talking about. You were wrong with everything you said about Dean," John stated.

"Is there a point to all this, or did you come to argue, because I am extremely busy?"

"Yes, there's a point," John said.

"I just wanted to tell you, Nathan, how wrong we all were," replied Frank.

"I wanted to show you something doctor." With that, John handed a copy of Dean's acceptance letter to MIT. "The little boy you said would never be able to put a sentence together managed to get accepted at one of the top schools in the country. With a full scholarship, no less."

The look on the doctor's face was priceless. Even then, he couldn't admit that he may have been wrong. "I'm not surprised, I mean look who Frank is. What did you do, promise them a library?"

Before John could comment, Frank answered. "That's my grandson you're talking about. He earned that. I had no contact with John, I didn't even know that Dean applied."

"Whatever, Frank. I have work to do."

With that, Nathan Keeping left in a huff. What was wrong with Frank? He had heard about Frank's atrocious attire at the auction and now, trying to humiliate him. He would have to get in touch with Margaret, he believed she really needed to talk to her husband.

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While John and Frank were occupied, Sam and Dean went to the movie theater and both admitted that they had enjoyed the action picture they had chosen to see. John returned with dinner a little while later. With little else to do, they spent a pleasant afternoon practicing their poker skills. When early evening arrived Dean headed decided to head in to town, to the local bar. John suggested that Sam join him so the two could enjoy their evening.

There were a lot of young people in the bar and most were bragging about taking on all comers at the pool tables. Dean made short work of them and pocketed several hundred dollars. He and Sam claimed a table and decided to enjoy a beer before heading home. As they were laughing about something, a young women made her way over to the brothers.

"Excuse me," she said as she walked up to them.

"Yeah?" replied Sam.

"I was sitting next to you earlier and I heard you call him Dean," she said turning her attention to the older Winchester brother. "Are you Dean Winchester? Frank's grandson?"

"Why are you asking?" Dean queried, he could feel his defences rising.

The girl smiled. "Sorry, I'm Alexandra Felton. You met my grandfather, Ian, at the auction the other day."

Dean smiled back. "Yeah, your grandfather's a nice guy. How's the Thunderbird? "

"Great, I am dropping a lot of not so subtle hints about my birthday in a few months. I mean it's so gorgeous." She then rattled off all the stats about the car.

"You into cars?" asked Dean. He was starting to wonder if there was such a thing as love at first sight.

"Oh, yeah. I have a Corvette. What about you?"

"Impala."

"What year?"

"'67."

"Impala's best."

"Definitely."

"Hi," said Sam dryly, breaking into the conversation.

"Oh, sorry," apologized Dean. "Alexandra, this is my brother, Sam."

"Hi, Sam, and please call me Alex," the young woman said smiling.

"You here by yourself or are you with someone? You can join us if you want." Dean offered.

"I'm just waiting for my friend, Sarah, but if you have room for two, we would love to."

Sam and Dean scooted over and made room. Shortly afterward, Sarah Miller showed up and introductions were made. The conversation turned to cars and Dean and Alex got into a heated argument about whether Lamborghini's or Ferrari' were cooler. When Alex mentioned that she loved to shoot pool as well, all bets were off and they left.

"You get the feeling those two were made for each other?" Sarah remarked to Sam.

"Yeah, did you understand a word they said?"

"Not really, I'm lucky if I can turn my car on. I think they forgot about us. Think we should be insulted? Sarah said with a wink.

"We can get revenge. You know Alex, is there anything she doesn't like that we could have a discussion about let them know how it feels?"

"I loved the book Crime and Punishment, Alex hasn't read it. What about Dean?" Sarah asked.

"No, he hasn't read it and you know what, I really liked that book too. Have you read War and Peace?"

Sam looked up and saw Dean, he and Alex were laughing about something. For the first time since they had arrived in town, Sam allowed himself to relax completely. Sam turned back to Sarah and they had an in depth discussion about classic novels. Shortly after, Dean and Alex rejoined them. Dean had won bragging rights by taking all three games of pool. He was truly impressed with Alex's skill though.

Dean excused himself briefly to call John, to let him know they would be back later than expected, so he shouldn't worry. John encouraged them to have a good time, and not to worry about getting back so soon. He wanted to finish Mary's journal. He was glad to be able to give his boys a chance to be normal for a little while.

Of course, normal for the Winchester's didn't come easily. Sarah Miller and Alexandra Felton were bitter enemies with Tabitha Butler and her best friend Francesca Warrington. The two of them were out on the town that night and had decided to see if there was anyone worthy of them in the bar.

"Oh, God! Frannie, there he is. That guy I told you about," Tabitha gushed.

"You were so right, Tabbi, he is so hot. Who's the guy he's with though?"

"He said he had a brother, maybe that's him. I think he said his name was Sam."

"He's not bad either. Let's go rescue them from those losers shall we, Tabbi. I mean they must be so bored by now. "

"Yes, Frannie, let's. Why would they want to sit with those idiots when they can have the pleasure of our company?" The two girls made their way over with determined strides.

Dean groaned when he saw who was walking toward them, and so did Alex and Sarah. Sam, who had only heard Dean's description, felt like joining them too.

"Dean, it's so good to see you again. This is my friend, Frannie," said Tabbi.

"Hi," Dean said politely. "This is my brother, Sam. Did you have a good time yesterday at the auction?"

"It was so boring. I'm sure you agree."

"No, I had a great time," Dean said with a grin.

"Never mind that, we are sitting over there," said Tabbi, pointing to an empty table and she and Frannie turned around to make their way over to their booth. She fully expected that Dean and Sam would follow her, so she was truly shocked when she turned around to find that neither brother had moved.

"Excuse me," she repeated. "I said we were sitting over there."

"Have fun," answered Dean tipping the neck of his beer bottle in her direction and turning his attention away.

Alex and Sarah were trying not to burst out laughing at the expression on Tabbi's face. This was the first time they had ever seen someone stand up to her.

"Come sit with us, Sammy," Frannie said. She had decided she wanted the youngest Winchester.

"I'm comfortable here thanks, and it's Sam."

"I like Sammy so much better. It goes with Frannie. Frannie and Sammy," she giggled.

_Gag me, thought Sam._

"Only two people on the planet are allowed to call me Sammy and I'm sorry, but you're not one of them," Sam stated firmly.

"Sorry, no offense, but Sam, Frannie wants to get to know you better and I would like to get to know Dean better. So ditch these losers and join us," Tabbi said, her lashes fluttering flirtatiously.

Dean had had enough. 'I'm sorry. We were having a nice time tonight and I don't appreciate people being rude to my new friends, so if you can't keep a civil tongue in what you think is your pretty little head, I suggest you go elsewhere. Goodnight," Dean announced in a tone that left no room for arguments and eerily reminded Sam of John in drill sergeant mode.

Tabbi couldn't believe her ears. Had she just been dismissed? Nobody did that to Tabitha Winifred Butler. Grandmama would be hearing about this.

They stalked off.

"Dean, that was great," complimented Sarah.

"Yeah, it was about time someone put her in her place," Alex nodded in agreement.

Alex was not the kind of girl Dean normally went for. She was a brunette and a little on the short side. While she was pretty, she was not drop dead gorgeous. Not the tall, leggy blondes he usually chased, that described Sarah more. None the less, Dean found himself thoroughly enjoying her company. Sam could say the same about Sarah. When the band stared to play an AC/DC tune and Alex announced that it was her favourite song, Dean just had to ask.

"Hey, Alex, would you marry me?"

Alex laughed. She was intrigued by Dean Winchester. When she met a guy as good looking as he was, they usually fell all over Tabbi. "One condition, how do you feel about Justin Timberlake?"

"Yuck," said Dean.

"In that case, I accept. Come on, let's go dance."

As Dean and Alex walked away, Sam couldn't help but think to himself who is this guy and what did he do with my brother?

It was almost two in the morning when Dean and Sam stumbled back to the motel. That night, both brothers fell asleep with smiles on their faces.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Disclaimer- I still don't own them, just playing.

A/n: Thanks to Soar for her awesome beta work, and thanks to SilverStorm06 for the description of Sam and Dean's tempers.

Over the next week, things continued to go well for the Winchesters, even John and Sam seemed to be getting along. They had a few arguments, but they were mostly superficial, such as where to go for dinner, or what to watch on TV.

Dean and Frank had gotten together on a few more occasions and the bond between the two men had deepened. Frank had even joined the Winchesters for dinner one night. Sam was civil to their grandfather, but Dean could not understand why Sam didn't want to forgive the man. John knew, but he couldn't explain the reason to Dean. John watched the interactions between the three men and came to the conclusion that, while Dean's temper may burn hotter, Sam's burned longer.

The only thing that was not going well was the hunt, they ran into roadblocks at every turn. To make matters worse, the local paper confirmed that the house was now back on the market, the Ames' wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. John thought about pretending to be interested in it, but the problem with that was the neighbourhood the house was located in. It was listed at a bargain basement price, but even that was way more than John could afford and if he were to run into Conner or Jeff, they would know that. It was looking more and more like they would have to go with Dean's plan.

In the mean time, John, for the first time in very long time, was getting to be a father to his boys. He was enjoying it immensely and he didn't want to give it up, he was even contemplating renting an apartment. If Sam wanted to go back to school, the University of Kansas was not too far from here. He could give Dean a real home. Maybe the two of them could even open their own garage.

John had his doubts though. Would Sam stay here, or would he want to go back to Stanford? Would Dean be happy settling down? What about Mary? John still wanted to avenge her death. She deserved that. John also knew that the Demon had plans for Sam. Even if he decided to forget that yellow-eyed son of a bitch, he knew it would not forget about him. Would those plans put Frank in danger? Dean would never forgive himself if something happened to his grandfather, John was certain of that. He came to the conclusion that he wouldn't make any decisions until after the hunt. Besides, resolving that it was more urgent now. Someone could be in danger if the house sold.

To that end, John had instructed Dean to only try to get the information if it was in a way that came naturally. He didn't want to arouse Frank's curiousity.

"Hey, Sam, are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Dean asked.

"No, I want to finish my book. Oh, and Dean, I would advise against doing your Nicholson impression. You wouldn't want to scare Frank off," Sam commented.

"You just have no appreciation for talent," Dean countered.

"I do when I see it," Sam replied.

Before Dean could come back with a response, there was a knock at the door. Sam grinned. It wasn't often he got the last word.

Dean confirmed that it was Frank and opened the door. He greeted his grandfather enthusiastically. After exchanging the usual pleasantries with Sam and John, the two were on their way.

"Cool, Grandpa, you bought the Porsche. Can I drive?" asked Dean.

"Since I know where the restaurant is, I'll drive there and you can drive home, okay?" Frank countered.

"Deal. Where are we headed?" Dean hoped it wasn't some place too fancy. He had limited funds.

"I thought we would go to Angelo's. It's a little Italian place that I know of. Nothing too fancy," said Frank as if he had read Dean's mind. "They are a little on the expensive side, but don't worry, I got it covered."

"I'll pay for the movie," Dean offered.

"Deal," agreed Frank.

They arrived at the restaurant and were immediately shown to a booth near the entrance. Dean had just picked up his menu and was trying to decide what to order, when he heard his grandfather greet someone. He almost choked when he saw it was Michelle Ames and her husband Peter. They had a little boy with them and Dean knew from the pictures that this was Steven Connell, the son of the couple that had been killed. Dean's heart went out to the little boy.

"Hi, Frank, how are you?" asked Peter.

"I'm good. How are you guys doing?"

"Good days and bad," answered Michelle. "We just had to get out for a bit. The phone's been ringing off the hook and I thought it would do Steven some good to breathe a bit of fresh air. It's been so rough on all of us."

"Hi, Steven," greeted Frank. The young boy just turned his head and hid behind his aunt's leg. "Peter, Michelle this is Dean, he's my grandson."

Dean held out his hand and greeted Michelle and Peter, then he held out his hand and greeted Steven. It was almost as if the little boy could sense a kindred spirit in Dean because he reached out and shook it as well. It surprised everyone, including Dean.

"You have a reservation?" asked Frank.

"No, it was a last minute decision. I wish we had called ahead because it's going to be a while before we can be seated."

Frank looked at Dean and he could read what his grandfather was asking so he nodded his head.

"Why don't you join us?" Frank suggested to the Ames'.

"We wouldn't want to intrude," Peter replied hesitantly.

"You're not," Dean reassured the older man.

Upon agreeing, Peter, Michelle and Steven were quickly seated. As the party made small talk and while they decided what they wanted to order, Dean noticed that Steven never moved. He hadn't even touched his menu.

"Hey, Steven," Dean addressed the boy. "I've never been here before, but I love spaghetti and meatballs, are they any good here?"

Steven nodded and when the waitress came, that's what Dean ordered and Steven said in such a low voice he had to repeat himself twice that he would have the same.

"Poor kid," Peter said. "This has been so tough on him. He's been having nightmares and he doesn't say much. Just yes or no answers mostly."

"I wish there was something we could do to help him more, but he just stays in his room," Michelle added.

Dean had experienced the same thing after his mother's death and because he had stopped talking, people had assumed that he had stopped hearing as well and they constantly spoke about him as if he weren't in the room.

What Dean wanted to say was _maybe you could try talking to him rather than about him_. He didn't of course.

Dinner continued, as did the small talk. Dean made sure that Steven was always included in the conversation. If you asked both Sam and John, they would say that they each had a moment where they had realized exactly what kind of person Dean was. Tonight, Frank had his turn.

Things had been going well. Peter and Michelle were a little uptight, but they weren't bad people and Dean realized they truly cared for their nephew. Then someone must have dropped something in the kitchen because there was a loud bang. The manager came out and apologized for the noise and explained that no one was hurt. Unfortunately, it scared Steven badly and he screamed and jumped into his aunt's arms, and despite Michelle's best attempts, nothing could calm him down.

"Excuse me," called a lady from the next table. "We are trying to enjoy our meal, could you please shut him up."

"I'm trying," replied Michelle and she turned her attention back to her nephew. "Steven, honey, please it's all right. You're safe."

It had no effect and the little boy continued to cry.

"Lady, get the kid out of here," the snobby lady ordered and turned to her companion. "Really, why do they even let kids in here?

This was definitely the wrong thing to say with Dean around. He really knew what this boy was going through. He turned to the woman.

"Hey, lady, put a sock in it would you. He's upset and your yelling isn't going to help the situation."

"Well, I never," the lady replied, insulted.

"Maybe you should. Have some compassion."

Dean then got up and walked over to the little boy and took a chair so that he was at eye level with the young man.

"Hey, little man, ignore that busybody over there. You know what, it's okay to be scared."

This surprised Steven. Everyone was telling him to suck it up or be brave. This was something different. He didn't calm down immediately, but it was obvious he was listening to Dean.

"When I was a little younger than you, I saw something real bad happen to my, um, my mom. Just like you, I didn't feel like talking and I didn't want to let my dad or my brother out of my sight in case something happened to them. I was really scared, but you know what a wise man once told me?"

Steven had calmed a little more at this point. He just shook his head.

"He told me that being scared was what it meant to be truly brave. If you aren't a little bit afraid, you might take too many risks and get too cocky. The trick is not to let the fear take over."

Steven's cries had turned to sniffles at this point. "How do you stop it?" He asked in a very soft voice. It was so low that Dean almost had trouble hearing him.

"You have to find something to focus on. I focus on my mom. I know that she would understand me being afraid, but I also know that she wanted me to be brave and I think about that every day, and I do my best to be brave for her. Your parents would want the same thing, so focus on them and you'll find the strength you need. Do you think you can do that?"

"I can try," Steven whispered.

"That a boy," Dean answered as he ruffled the little boy's hair. He then returned to his own seat and a moment later, Steven climbed out of his aunt's lap and returned to his own chair. He gave Dean a great big smile. Michelle and Peter couldn't thank Dean enough and the young hunter felt his emotions getting the better of him so, he excused himself and went the washroom.

"Frank, your grandson is a fine young man," observed Peter.

"He is," agreed Michelle. "It was just amazing. I haven't seen Steven smile in a long time. You must be very proud."

"I am. A man couldn't ask for a better grandson," answered Frank. Frank couldn't believe what Dean had revealed. He didn't know Dean had seen his mother burn to death. That certainly explained why he was so protective of his family. Once again, he began to beat himself up. Mary had been right. Dean would have done the Jackson name proud.

Dean returned and the meal continued. The snobby lady kept throwing dirty looks their way, still insulted that a stranger would speak to her that way but they all happily ignored her. After they were done eating and getting ready to leave, Steven ran over to Dean and gave him a big hug which Dean returned wholeheartedly.

After dinner, they drove to the theater to enjoy the movie. After the movie, Frank tried to tell Dean how impressed he was with the way the young man had handled the situation at the restaurant. He sensed that his words were making Dean uncomfortable though so he changed the subject.

Dean was trying to figure out how to bring up the subject of the house, but for once, luck was on his side and Frank was actually the one to bring it up. He told Dean about how the Connell's had bought it, completely torn it down and rebuilt it. He admitted to Dean that it had always given their company problems.

"Two other couples also ended up being killed and coincidently, they had a young boy as well. Other people we sold it to had so much trouble with it that they never stayed very long."

"What kind of trouble?" Dean asked.

"Weird leaks, pipes busting, rats, trouble with wiring, flickering lights," Frank rattled off the list of complaints.

This confirmed Dean's initial thoughts. They were dealing with a malevolent spirit. Of course, he didn't say that out loud.

"I was talking to Conner this one time and he told me this one couple swore up and down the house was haunted."

"Haunted, why would they say that?"

"There is a legend?"

"Can you tell me? Urban legends are kind of hobby for me," Dean explained.

"It's just a story. Anyway, the neighbourhood where the house is located had always been a more upscale place, and the original owners, the Fitzgeralds if I recall correctly, were one of the few people that didn't lose everything after the depression hit. It made them a prime target for robbers. The house was broken into and the parents were killed in front of their son. The killers were never caught and it's said that anytime someone with kids moves in, the boy's spirit kills the parents in the hope that their killer will be caught."

"Sort of like, if the kid gets justice, then in a way, the spirit does to."

"Exactly. It's just a story though."

_If you only knew, thought Dean. Now that he knew the history of the house it wouldn't take much for Sam to find out where the boy was buried. It should be a simple salt and burn. _

"You in a hurry to get home, Dean?" asked Frank.

"No, not really, why?"

"They delivered my caddy this afternoon. Want to take it for a spin with me?"

"Sure," Dean agreed. "Just let me call Dad and tell him I'll be later than expected."

Dean and Frank drove around in the Cadillac for a while and then went back to Frank's house. Frank showed Dean some pictures of Mary growing up. He noticed that while Dean didn't suddenly open up, he spoke a little more and even admitted a painful memory of a time when he was in high school and some kids had played a trick on him, and he ended up having everyone laugh at him. Frank's heart broke for his grandson when he found that out. Dean refused to elaborate on what the others had done to him, but Frank was once again impressed when Dean told him how he got the kids to stop picking on him.

The topic was getting too heavy for both of them and they went back to their favourite topic, classic cars. They were both laughing about something when they heard someone enter the room. Frank looked up and greeted the newcomer.

"Margaret, you're home early."

A/N: I hope you didn't think the reason behind the haunted house was too lame. It was the best I could come up with.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

A/N: Once again thank you to Soar for all her beta work and suggestions.

"Margaret, you're home early."

Dean stood as his grandmother entered the room and he got his first good look at her. The best word he could use to describe her was severe. She had her hair done up in a bun that was so tight, Dean wondered if it was keeping wrinkles out of her face. Her face had a pinched look to it, much like she was sucking on a lemon. Her outfit was spotless, every button done up and with not so much as a wrinkle or a tear.

"Frank," Margaret said as a greeting.

"How was your trip?"

"It was going fine, but I had to come home."

Not wanting to get into this in front of Dean, Frank decided to steer the conversation to safer ground. "Margaret, this is our grandson, Dean. He's Mary's oldest boy."

"Ah, hello,'" Dean stammered. Dean was not sure how to address the older woman. He had a feeling that Grandma wouldn't go over very well. "It's good to meet you."

"Frank, get Miles to take my things up to my room. We have to talk. I will meet you in your office after I freshen up," Margaret said completely ignoring Dean's greeting.

Dean tried to remember his father's words, but he was still stung by his grandmother's treatment and became instantly uncomfortable. He turned to his grandfather. "Grandpa, it's getting late. I, um, I think I'd better leave."

"You don't have to leave, Dean," Frank offered. "You were about to tell me about your first date."

"I better go. I don't want dad to worry," Dean restated.

"I think that would be for the best," added Margaret.

Frank didn't miss Dean's flinch.

Frank was trying to hold his temper in check over his wife's behaviour. He should have warned Dean a little more about her.

"I'll take you back," Frank said. "Want to take the Ferrari, or is there any other car out there you want to take for spin?"

"Doesn't matter," Dean said in a forced tone as he collected his jacket and started for the door.

In an effort to make Dean feel better, Frank drove Dean home in the Ferrari. Dean was quiet the whole way back though, despite Frank's effort to draw him out.

"Thanks, Grandpa, I'll talk to you later," he said as he reached for the door handle.

"Dean, wait," Frank said. "Please don't let Margaret upset you. It's not you. She treats everyone that way, even me."

"Okay," agreed Dean. He forced his emotions down.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Frank stated. Then on impulse, he reached over and hugged the young hunter.

Dean's first instinct was to pull away, but that quickly faded and he returned the older man's gesture. No matter what happened with his grandmother, he truly cared for his grandfather.

"Sure. 'Night, Grandpa," Dean said.

Frank watched Dean as he entered the motel room. He pulled the car out and returned to his home. This was one conversation he was not looking forward to.

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Margaret Jackson was most displeased that her trip had been interrupted. She had been in contact with Winifred Butler and she couldn't believe the way her husband was acting. They were important people in the community and it had taken a long time to get over the shame she had experienced when her daughter had started to date a grease monkey. She had been so embarrassed and couldn't show her face in front of her friends for at least a month. Now it seemed to be starting all over again, since the grease monkey's son had shown up, Frank had not been himself.

She could still remember the outrage she had felt when Winifred had called her about Frank's behaviour, wearing that stupid tie. Once again, she swore to herself she was going to burn it, once she found out where he hid it. She had also been infuriated by the nerve that boy had displayed, insulting her best friend's granddaughter. What she had discovered when she called Nathan to see how the auction had gone, and found out what her husband and the grease monkey had done, was just the last straw. She came home as soon as she could. She was going to put a stop to all this nonsense before her place in the community was destroyed.

Frank returned shortly after and as soon as he came into the room, she chastised him like he was a child.

"Really, Francis, I have heard how you have been acting and I will not tolerate it. We will be the laughing stock of all our friends."

"Margaret, Dean is our grandson. He's been nothing but a perfect gentleman in front of our friends. They were all impressed with him at the auction and Ian told me how much he enjoyed meeting him, and both Paul and Michelle Ames told me what a fine young man he is," Frank stated, defending his grandson.

"A proper gentleman does not insult his elders. What about the way he treated Winifred, and let us not forget his treatment of poor, young Tabitha," countered Margaret.

"Exactly who told you that? Winifred maybe? I was there, Margaret, you weren't. Dean did not insult her. He was nothing but polite and respectful to her. She's the one that insulted Dean by ignoring him," said Frank, his voice starting to contain a trace of anger.

"What about Tabitha? I heard about what happened in the bar. He dismissed her without a second thought."

"Maybe you should get your facts straight," Frank said. He had spoken to Ian and he knew exactly what had gone down.

"Winifred told me how distraught Tabitha was. That poor, young girl," said Margaret, repeating her lament.

"Margaret, I hate to break it to you, but Tabitha Butler is anything but a poor, young girl. Truth be told, she's a miserable, insufferable, spoiled brat and you know it."

"See, this boy is causing you to insult our friends and I will really not put up with this. What about your treatment of Nathan? He is a pillar of this community and you tried to undermine him."

"I wanted him to see how wrong he was about Dean, how wrong we all were. He is a terrific young man and I am proud to introduce him as my grandson. I want everyone to see the man that Mary's son has become."

"That is the only reason you want him around, is it not? He is Mary's son."

"No, he's Dean. That's why I want him in my life. If I have to choose between him and our social standing, he's going to win everytime."

"He was not good enough when he was born, why, all of a sudden, is he good enough now?" questioned Margaret.

"I was so wrong back then and I wish I could go back and re-live that day. I can't, so I am thankful that I am getting a second chance with Dean."

"I am surprised he accepted you after he found out you rejected him," Margaret commented. She saw the look on her husband's face. "You never told him did you?"

"No, and he's not ever going to know. Look, Margaret, John and the boys are only in town for a little while. You **are not **going to say anything. I promise Dean won't hurt us socially."

"I will not say anything as long as my position in this community does not suffer," she said after a moment of thought.

With that, Margaret left the room. She went to her safe and opened it, there was something she wanted to check on. Unbeknownst to Frank, Margaret had a copy of Mary's letter made. She had wanted to be prepared in case something like this happened.

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John had been the first to awake the next day. He looked over at his sleeping sons. He hadn't expected Dean home so early last night. Dean had said he'd a good time with his grandpa and was excited about getting the information about the house, and wanted to share it with his father and brother.

John couldn't shake the feeling, though, that something seemed off with his first born. Normally, after he spent a day with his grandfather, he was upbeat and told them about every second. Last night, all he said was that the food was great and The Shining was still his favourite movie.

When John had asked Dean if it had been hard to get the information, Dean's only comment was that they had run into Paul and Michelle at the restaurant and had dinner with them, and that his grandfather had been the one to volunteer the information. He said the only thing he had to do was listen as his grandfather told him the story behind the house.

Dean had remained quiet and subdued for the rest of the evening and had gone to bed early. John was wondering if something had happened with Frank. Even Sam had noticed the change that had come over his brother and spent most of the evening shooting questioning looks at his father.

John was going to get to the bottom of this. He left a note for the boys, saying he was going for breakfast. As soon as he was out of the motel room though, he dialled and asked to speak with his father--in-law.

_"Hello," said Frank._

"Frank, it's John. What the hell happened last night?" John asked, not even bothering with the pleasantries.

_"What do you mean?" asked Frank, the confusion evident in his voice._

"Why is Dean so upset? Frank, did you say something to him because if you did, I swear to God..." John trailed off.

_"I swear, John, I didn't. You **know** I wouldn't. Unless..."_

"What?" interrupted John.

_"Margaret came home last night. She acted like Dean wasn't even in the room until he asked to leave and she agreed that he should."_

Frank had to hold the phone away from his ear to preserve his hearing as John let loose a long string of curse words "Damn her, she ignored him. That's worse than out right insulting him. Please tell me she didn't say anything to him."

_"No, she promised she wouldn't. I tried to explain to Dean that he shouldn't worry about it. Margaret treats everyone that way. Margaret didn't treat him any worse than Winifred did at the auction."_

"One key difference, Frank, Winifred Butler is not family. The thing that scares Dean the most is the thought that his family doesn't need him, or that he's not good enough."

"_John, is Dean alright?" asked Frank, silently praying that he hadn't blown the best thing that had happened to him in recent years._

"He will be. I'll talk to him. Frank, just make sure you contact him today, call him, stop by the motel, I don't care. If you don't, he's going to think you agree with your wife."

"_No problem, John, I was going to do that anyway."_

The two ended the conversation and any thoughts John had been harbouring about staying in town flew right out of his head. Dean had met his grandmother for all of five minutes and if he had been this upset about her rejection, how would he react if he found out about Frank's? John just didn't trust Margaret, despite Frank's promise. John knew, given the deep attachment Dean had formed with his grandfather, it would devastate his son and cause Dean to lose all the progress he had made since the accident. They had one piece of final information they needed to complete the hunt and when it was over, they were out of here. Sure, Dean was going to miss Frank, but that was the lesser of two evils.

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Shortly after they had finished eating their breakfast, Frank did call Dean and Dean seemed a little more like himself. When Frank asked him if he would like to join him for lunch the next day, Dean agreed and was enthusiastic when Frank mentioned that he had invited Ian and Alex to join them. John was ecstatic when Dean negotiated a trade, Frank would loan John his Porsche so Dean could take the Impala. He wanted to show it to Ian and Alex. John had tried for the Ferrari, but Frank wouldn't budge. He said his baby didn't go anywhere without him.

To find more information, John had sent the boys to the library and armed with the information from Frank, it had been easy for them to find what they were looking for. Isaac and Matilda Fitzgerald were killed when their home had been broken into, and their young son, Simon, had witnessed the event. He was never the same afterward and he had died a little over a year later in a car accident. His parent's killers were never bought to justice. Dean was not looking forward to this salt and burn. He **hated** jobs that involved kids.

Upon returning to the hotel, they formulated a plan and decided they could go to the cemetary tonight and take care of the hunt. John explained to both boys that he wanted to move on after the hunt was over. Sam agreed and reluctantly, so did Dean. He understood his father wanted to get back to hunting the demon. He was going to miss his grandfather, but John promised that they would stop by whenever they were in the area.

Dean asked his father if he could go see Frank before they went to the cemetary that night, so he could spend a little extra time with his grandfather. John agreed and Dean called Frank who said Dean was welcome anytime.

Dean was feeling a little better, but if he was honest with himself, he would have said that he was still hurt by his grandmother's rejection. He wanted to say goodbye to Grandpa tonight though, get all the chick flick moments out of the way so they could enjoy themselves during lunch tomorrow.

"Hey, Dean," John said.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"What about this?" John asked holding up Mary's journal. He had read it from cover to cover and he thought it would really help his son if he read it too.

"What about it?" replied Dean.

"Does Frank want this back?"

"He said it was a loan when he gave it to me, so I guess he does." Dean looked at it. He really wanted to read it but he was unsure if he could. If he didn't do it now though, he wasn't sure when he would get another chance.

"It's still early, you can read it and give it back to Frank tonight," John said trying to encourage his son.

"I don't know," replied Dean hesitantly.

"No pressure, kiddo. It's up to you. I just hope you're not upset that I read it," admitted John.

"No, why would I be?" Dean questioned.

"Your mother wrote it for… um, her father," explained John. John had almost said she wrote it for you, but if he had, he knew that Dean would question why Frank had the journal.

"No, I don't mind."

"Can I ask you to do one thing for me, son," John asked tenderly, not sure how his request would be received. "Would you read the first entry? Just that one. If you can't go on, put the book down and I'll say no more about it."

Dean looked at the cover and felt a sense of longing, surely he could handle one entry. He took the journal from his father and stretched out on the bed. John watched as Dean read the first entry. It caused Dean to chuckle and look up at his father.

"Did mom always get cravings like that?"

"Yup, with both of you," answered John. Sam, who had been pretending to read, but was really monitoring the conversation between John and Dean, looked up when his father said this. "You didn't mention food around your mother when she was pregnant. There was this one time when she was pregnant with you, Sam. We had fallen asleep with the TV on and your mother woke and saw some characters travelling a rocky road so she woke me and made me go for rocky road ice cream at 3 in the morning.

Both Sam and Dean laughed at that. Then John and Sam watched as Dean leaned back against the headboard and turned the page to the second entry.

"That's my boy," John whispered softly.

A/N Hoped you like this chapter. The next one will be Dean reading his mother's journal.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

Once again thank you Soar for her awsome beta work.

Dean had listened as their father told him and Sam about his mother's pregnancy cravings. Despite himself, he was intrigued. When his dad fell silent, Dean leaned back and continued reading. John pretended to surf Sam's computer and Sam continued to pretend to read his book, both secretly watching Dean in case he needed anything.

Dean found that he loved his mother's sense of humour, which came through in her writing. There was no way he could stop now. He read the second entry and then the third. Her seventh entry surprised him.

_July 16, 1978  
I am now officially 1 month pregnant. My tentative due date is March 22, 1979. That day is going to become one of my top five days. The first day was when I met John. It was both a very special day and a very sad one. I was working as a candy striper, usually in the paediatric ward, but I had switched shifts and was delivering flowers to a terminally ill woman by the name of Erin Winchester. Her son was visiting her that day. He had the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. I stayed and visited with her and her son, John, for far longer than I should have. In fact, my supervisor had to page me. I still didn't want to leave and John invited me out for coffee after my shift. Of course I accepted. We talked about everything that day. _

I would stop by and visit Erin on a regular basis. I hope you don't think ill of me, my baby boy or girl, because I am ashamed to admit that part of the reason was that I was hoping to see her son again. I did to know Erin in her own right though and it is my greatest regret that you will never get to meet her. I think she knew that I had a major crush on her son because she told me once that I would make a very good daughter-in-law. She laughed when I agreed with her. I met your paternal grandfather as well and he was every bit as kind and caring as Erin.

I continued to see John and our relationship grew as well. This brings me to the second of what will become my top five days. The day John asked me to marry him. We had been dating for about six months. In his mother's hospital room, he got down on one knee and asked me to make him the happiest man alive. I said yes. John's mom died shortly before the wedding, but I know she was there when we tied the knot.

Your father and I always knew we wanted a family. I wanted eight kids, but unfortunately, our budget didn't allow for it. So we have settled on three. So now you know about days three through five.

Dean lowered the journal and looked at his dad.

"You and mom wanted eight kids?" Dean asked his dad.

"Yeah, but then reality set in," John explained. "We had decided on three originally, but..."

"Then there was the fire," interrupted Sam.

"Actually, no, Sam. When Dean was born, we were a little nervous about trying again but we knew that we wanted more than one child so we decided to have another. Besides, your mother said that even if she had the same complications, our second child would be fine. Your mom had an easy pregnancy with you, Sam, and we decided not to tempt fate a third time. We had two perfect, beautiful sons and we decided that our family was complete."

"I don't blame you, Dad. Wouldn't want to risk having another one of him," Dean said pointing at Sam.

"After you, I should count my blessings I was born. They were probably afraid the baby would end up just like you," Sam countered.

"You got it all wrong," Dean shook his head. "I was pure perfection. I bet they wanted a dozen more like me."

"Pure perfection," said Sam in a sarcastic tone. He turned to his father. "Hey, Dad, how many times did you have to explain to people that Dean was the older brother?"

"Leave me out of this one," John replied in answer to Sam's question, a large grin decorating his face.

"I'm not short, your're just freakishly tall, Sasquatch," Dean defended.

"Whatever you have to tell yourself to get through the day little brother."

John knew it was coming and the boys didn't disappoint.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

The boys continued to banter until John informed them they were giving him a headache. Sam went back to his book and Dean picked up his mother's journal and read the next few entries. They mainly dealt with how happy she was to be pregnant.

_July 21, 1978  
I wonder how long morning sickness is supposed to last. I was really sick this morning. I had to cancel my meeting with my boss because I just couldn't get out of bed. So I have one thing to say to that. Thanks, kiddo. Kevin Ross, the principal at the school where I teach, has this meeting before school starts every year. It's supposed to be this big motivational speech about the upcoming year and how great it's going to be. The only thing it motivates me to do is take a nap. It's the same speech, word for word, every year. Thanks again for getting me out of it, my baby boy._

_July 22, 1978  
I just re-read what I wrote yesterday. I referred to you as a boy. For some reason, I keep thinking of you as a boy. I don't know why, I really don't know if it's even possible for anyone to know at this point , but I say I'm having a boy and I'm always right. I love you, son._

_July 23, 1978  
I told your father that we were having a boy. He was so happy. He can't wait to teach you to play baseball. He's already got you a glove and your spot reserved in the starting line up of the Kansas City Royals. He says you're going to be what makes them respectable again. Better hurry up and get here, son, they really need your help._

Dean laughed at that. He was so glad he had taken his fahter's advice to read this. He continued to read along. Some entries were long and others were just a couple of sentences. If his mother didn't have anything new to add, her entry would simply remind him of how much she had already grown to love him, and to let him know that angels would always watch over him.

_September 30, 1978  
I just came back from the doctor. I was so hungry and thirsty. I thought it was pregnancy cravings but even though I was eating a ton, I had begun to lose wait weight. The doctor did a test and discovered that I had a condition called gestational diabetes. It supposed to affect 2-4 of pregnant woman. At those odds, maybe I should consider a trip to Vegas. This means no more junk food. I feel sorry for those share holders at Hershey's or whoever makes M&M's because they are about to take a really big hit. At least I can have coffee though, just not sugar. That's okay, I prefer it black anyway. They also say that in about 90 of cases, it goes away after the baby's born. A little less than 5 months to go. It's okay though, son, because I would give them up forever for you. _

_November 22, 1978  
I met my new doctor today. I have developed a condition called pre-eclampsia. Between that and the diabetes, my pregnancy is now high risk, so I am now in the care of Dr. Nathan Keeping. He is a friend of my mom's. He's kind of arrogant, but he is a good doctor and you're in the very best of hands, my son. _  
_  
December 22, 1978  
I went in to labour today, but thankfully, the doctors managed to stop it. I know I have said numerous times that I can't wait to meet you, but I need you to wait at least three more months okay. Your're still a little too small to join us yet. I have to stay on bed rest for the next three months. This means your father has to wait on me hand and foot. Once again, thanks. Thanks to you, I get to enjoy breakfast in bed for the next three months. I can't think of a better christmas present present. _

_January 24, 1979  
Happy birthday, Jack. You decided to join us a little early. I am sitting by your incubator here in the neonatal ICU and without a doubt, you are the most handsome little man I have ever seen. Just don't tell your father I said that. They took you away from me before I could even see you and it was the longest 2 hours 17 minutes and 48 seconds of my life, waiting for the doctor. The moment I finally lay eyes on you though, it was so worth the wait. Good thing you were a boy or I would have had to bury this journal. _

_These next several entries may be difficult for you to read because I intend to tell you everything that happens, good or bad. Right now, things are stacked against you, but I have faith so don't let anything you read upset you and that's an order. Nathan told me you weren't going to survive, and so did all of the doctors and nurses. I really let them have it. I told them all what I thought of that suggestion. Just so you don't think your mom is a screeching banshee who gets hysterical at the slightest thing, it was not what the doctor said but how he said it. I know doctors have to deliver bad news, but couldn't he have said that even though the odd aren't in your favour, premies are a lot tougher than people give them credit for. It would have helped, but there was nothing. My dad always told me to have faith and I will say it again, I have faith in you, son. I just know that your're going to be okay. _

_January 25, 1979_

_Your're officially 24 hours old. Exactly 19 hours older than the doctor said your life expectancy was.  
Jack 1, Dr Keeping 0. _

_January 28, 1979  
Jonathan Dean Winchester Jr. That's your name. Now your're probably wondering what happened to Jack. That was how we were going to tell the difference between you and your father, since Jack is a nickname for John and my maiden name is Jackson. Given that it's a woman's God given right to change her mind at any time, we have now decided to refer to you as Dean. You remind me so much of James Dean in my favourite movie, Rebel Without a Cause. It must be fate that it's your father's middle name as well. Dad said he didn't mind, Dean suited you better. By the way, your're now 3 days old. Dean 2, Dr. Keeping 0._

_January 29, 1979  
You had your first set back today. You developed Necrotizing Enterocolitis. It's an inflammation of the intestines and your're not feeding well. You dropped from 3 pounds 4 ounces to 3 pounds 1 ounce. I know you just want to look good for Maria, the little girl who had the incubator next to yours, but I have to tell you, Dean, woman like men with a little meat on their bones so no more weight loss, okay. As much as I hate to do this, Dean 2, Dr. Keeping 1_.

_January 30, 1979  
**MEN!!!** I swear you tell them one thing, they do the opposite just for spite. You dropped 2 more ounces to 2 pounds 9 ounces. So the score is now tied two, two. _

_January 30, 1979  
I know I said one entry a day, but I am so angry right now I just had to get this out. That pompous, arrogant jerk. Do you know what he said to me? He said that one by one, more complications would probably start and it might be better if we took you off the vent and let nature take its course. I told him that if he had the nerve to say that one more time, I was not going to be held accountable for my actions._  
_  
February 7, 1979  
Okay, I missed several entries, but it was really hard to write with my hand in a splint. Stupid doctor._

"Hey, Dad," Dean addressed his father.

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Did mom really hit the doctor?"

John smiled at the memory. "Yup. Can't say she didn't warn him though."

Dean turned back to the journal and and in the background, he could hear John telling Sam the full story.

_February 8, 1979_

_A lot has happened over the last week. Nathan put you on a different antibiotic for the NE and said that if that didn't work, you were going to need surgery and surprise, surprise , he said you probably wouldn't survive. The man really needs some new material, but I know you, and if you need surgery, your're going to come through it like a trooper. The next day when they weighed you, and you hadn't lost anymore weight. Dean 3, Dr. Keeping 2. Go, Dean. Oh, by the way, the antibiotic did the trick and the NE cleared up, no surgery necessary._

_February10, 2007  
I get to hold you today. You are officially 17 days old and your're packing the weight on. Your're back up to your birth weight, so the nurses lifted you, tubes and all, out of the incubator and put you in my arms. I think the tubes weigh more than you at this point. Not that it matters. I was only allowed to hold you for a couple of minutes, but it was enough to fill my heart. I hated having to put you down. Once your're free from the tubes, I am never going to let you go. In case I haven't told you lately, I love you, Dean, and I am so proud of you. Dean 4, Dr. Keeping 2._

_February 15, 1979  
Good job on the weight gain. You're up to 3 pounds 10 ounces. Maria is really starting to notice you. She always seems to be gazing in your direction. Dean 5, Dr. Keeping 2. Go, Dean._  
  
_February 24, 1979__  
Maria is being released today. The minute the doctors took her out of the incubator she started screeching. They said it was just the change of scenery and that she would settle down, but I know the truth. You officially broke your first heart today, my son. I can't believe you are now a month old. Dean 6, Dr. Keeping 2._

_March 1, 1979  
I ran into Maria's mom today in the cafeteria. They brought her in for a check up. Her mom said that she is doing good but that she seems to cry a lot, thought it was colic. I told her Maria missed my Dean and offered her your picture, but for some reason, she didn't seem amused._

Dean was tempted to stop and ask his father more about that, but he really wanted to keep reading and decided to wait until he was done.

_March 15, 1979  
It's been seven weeks since you were born. You now weigh 4 pounds 3 ounces and the doctors are removing the vent. You are now breathing on your own. That idiot is still not saying anything positive. He stopped saying you weren't going to survive, but now it's that your going to be handicapped both mentally and physically, and that there is a high probability you would be blind with cerebral palsy palsy and a whole host of other things. You proved them all wrong before and I know you will again. Have I told you how proud of you I am lately? Dean 7 Dr. Keeping 2. _

April 5, 1979  
I cannot begin to describe how happy I am. You are being released from the hospital today. At 10 weeks, you now weigh 5 pounds even. I cannot wait. Your nursery is done all up in a baseball motif and I can't wait for you to see it. I just got back from seeing your doctor. I bought him this really beautiful picture of a duck in a pond. I said it was an apology for hitting him. He said he really liked it and would hang it in his office. Now I must confess, Dean, I know I said that I would only tell you the truth. I bought that picture for Nathan so that everytime he looked at it, he could remind himself that he was a great big quack. Dean 8, Dr. Keeping 2.

A full belly laugh escaped Dean. His mother had a wicked sense of humour.

_April 16, 1979  
I know you want to impress the ladies, but I can take you anywhere to meet them, it doesn't have to be nurses at the hospital. Just now, we had to bring you back because you were running a really high fever. Dean 8, Dr. Keeping 3._

There was an entry for every day of the first year of his life. His mom wrote about everything from his first steps to his first word. He found out that he had been in the hospital a lot his first year, but no matter what happened she turned it into something positive. She also still kept score. Whenever he reached a new milestone the doctors said he wouldn't, she gave him a point. Whenever he ended up back in the hospital, she gave one to his doctor. There were two in particular that stood out to him during the first year. His six month and one year birthday.

_June 24, 1979  
You are 6 months old today. It's too bad you have to spend it in the hospital. The doctors have discovered a hole in your heart. See, you have such a big one that your body couldn't fill it in completely. It's major open heart surgery and since it doesn't really seem to be adversely affecting your health, they decided to not to operate because... bet you can't guess the reason. You both get a point, Dean 9, Dr. Keeping 4. _

January 24, 1980  
Happy first birthday, son. It's been a tough year but we all got through it and we are all that much stronger. You kicked ass, Dean. The final score, Dean 35 Dr. Keeping 13.

This brings the journal to a close. I know some of these entries must be really hard for you to read. It can't be easy to see things like that you weren't expected survive, or that the doctors wanted to remove you from the vent. I included them because I want you to know everything that happened to you and just how much you have overcome, and I hope that you can find strength in these words. No matter what your're facing, or how insurmountable the odds may seem, just remember what you have faced and beaten already. You never gave up. You are the strongest, bravest person I know. I am going to close this now with three pieces of advice that my dad gave me.  
1) Have Faith.  
2) Never give up hope.  
3) Never be afraid to kick some ass.  
Follow these three simple things and you can take whatever life may throw at you. You're living proof of that. No matter what the coming years may bring, always remember that I love you so much and I am so very proud of you.

Dean put down the journal and stared at it. .

"You okay, son?" John asked.

"Dad, thanks," Dean said simply.

"No problem, son."

"Did mom really offer my picture to that girl's mother?" Dean asked.

"Yup," said John with a chuckle.

"What was that?" asked Sam.

John turned to his younger son. "When Dean was in the NICU, there was this little girl next to him. Your mom was convinced that she had a crush on your brother. She told the little girl's mother that it wasn't colic that was making her cry, but that she missed Dean. She thought your mother was nuts." John said wistfully as he recalled that day.

"Are you sure it was wise to let him read that, dad, he already has a swelled head," Sam commented.

"You're just jealous that you're not as hot as me," replied Dean. John noticed that it was half hearted though.

"Dean, everything okay?" John repeated his probe.

"Yeah," he replied. "Why wouldn't it be?"

It was almost as if Sam sensed that Dean wanted to say more but didn't want to appear weak so he volunteered to go get lunch.

"I know there's something on your mind, kiddo, can you tell me?"

Dean looked at the journal and then back to his father. "Mom was, um she was... proud of me?" Dean asked almost as he was afraid to believe it.

John put his arm around his son's shoulders. "She was," he stated firmly.

"Do you think she still would be, even though I didn't follow her advice?" he asked asked.

"What do you mean?"

"The bit about having faith and hope."

"You did follow that advice."

"I don't have mom's faith," Dean admitted honestly.

"Dean, faith is a strong belief in something. You do have strong faith, in family. You never gave up hope that we would be a family again even after everything that's happened, and you're not afraid to kick the ass of anyone who tries to hurt your family. I say you are following her advice. Whether you live by those rules or not, she is proud of you, just like me." With that, John pulled Dean into a big bear hug. Initally, Dean resisted, but then returned the wholeheartedly.

"Thanks, dad," Dean repeated.

Sam joined them shortly afterward and Dean was himself again, cracking jokes, the snark in full force. The three spent an enjoyable afternoon together before Dean left to go spend the evening with his grandfather. He stopped at a store to pick up some more lighter fluid for the hunt that night and by chance, spotted the perfect gift for his grandfather as a going away present.

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When Dean got to the house, Miles showed him straight into the living room and informed him that Frank was on a phone call and would join him soon. Dean took a seat and waited.

It was unfortunate that Margaret and Frank rarely communicated with each other. Frank had no idea that Margaret had invited Nathan and his wife over in the hopes that she could repair the damage that Frank she believed had caused to their relationship. Margaret had no idea that Frank had invited Dean over for the evening. She was surprised when she went to make sure that everything was ready for their guests' arrival and found that man's son there. There was no way he was going to ruin her evening. Enough was enough.

"Hi," Dean said standing when Margaret entered the room. This woman was his grandmother after all.

"I see you have _his_ manners," she replied as a greeting. There was no mistaking who she meant by this. "The proper way to greet a lady when she enters a room is with a polite good evening."

"Good evening," Dean repeated pleasnatly. He was in such a good mood that he decided he wouldn't let this woman get to him.

"I am afraid there has been a mistake. We are having important guests this evening. Frank should never have asked you to come over her tonight."

_Grandpa does want me here, Dean thought. He said so when I called him._

"We have to leave town tomorrow. He said I could come by," Dean explained.

"It must have been an oversight on his part," Margaret said in a frosty tone.

_Dean repeated his thought. Grandpa does want me here, doesn't he?_

"I'll wait and ask him," Dean said out loud, a touch of self doubt entering his tone.

"Suit yourself, but I can speak for him. He will see you tomorrow," Margaret answered and Dean knew he was being dismissed.

_Grandpa wants me here. Why would he say it if it wasn't true? It had to be true._

"Where is Grandpa? I have to give this back to him," Dean said holding up the journal.

"That silly thing. I will give it to him. You can see Frank tomorrow. I think you should be getting home."

_Why doesn't he want me here? What did I do wrong?_

"I'll wait and see him. I have something I want to give him. I'll leave after that," Dean conceded.

Margaret glanced at the clock. Her guests were always prompt and they would be here soon. She didn't want that grease monkey's kid here when they showed up.

"He dropped this," Margaret said and handed him an enevelope. Could you give it back to him when you give him the book? I found it on the floor of his bedroom."

Dean glanced at the note and saw his mother's hand writing. He couldn't help but read it.

"Hey, Dean," said Frank entering the room. He got there just in time to see all color drain from his grandson's face. "Dean, what is it, what's wrong?"

"I'll go," Dean said softly as he rose and made a beeline for the door. Frank stepped in front of him.

"What's going on? You don't have to leave."

"You don't want me here. Your wife said so," Dean replied in a tone that broke his grandfather's heart.

"Margaret, what the hell is going on? I invited Dean here and he's welcome anytime," Frank said turning his attention to his wife.

"I invited the Keepings' for dinner tonight," she said coolly.

"So, what does that have to do with anything?"

"I want to repair our relationship with them. I will not be embarrassed in my own home."

"Dean wouldn't embarrass us. He's our grandson," Frank argued.

"And the son of the grease monkey."

"Don't talk about my dad like that," said Dean, interrupting the argument. Nobody had the right to put his father down.

"See, he has no social graces, no respect for his elders. It is best this ends here and now," Margaret said firmly.

"Now you listen to me, woman..."

"STOP IT," Dean yelled. "Don't fight over me, I'm not worth it. I'll go."

"No, Dean," Frank said. "Margaret doesn't speak for me."

"You didn't want me either," Dean said before he could stop himself.

"That's not true."

"You said it," Dean accused.

"What?" asked Frank. Then it dawned on him, had Margaret told him what everyone was trying to keep hidden.

"I wanted to give this back to you. Your wife gave me the missing page." Dean handed the journal and the note back to his grandfather. Frank found himself gazing at the note he thought he had destroyed. That's when he realized that his wife must have had a copy. He should have ripped it up the minute he received it.

Frank looked at his grandson and expected to see anger, much like he had when Sam had read the note. He was surprised when all he saw was a look of devastation. He felt his heart crack a little more.

"Dean, I can explain," Frank said trying to reason with the distraught young man.

"You all lied to me, you, dad, Sam, even mom," Dean said. He was in no mood to be placated.

"Dean, please," Frank tried again.

"I was never supposed to be named after Dad was I? It was you, but I wasn't good enough," Dean said sadly.

"That was never it. Please, let me explain," Frank said desperately. He had to make this right. He had to make Dean understand.

Dean was just as desperate to hold himself together. What was it about him, why was he never good enough? Sam left, his dad ditched him too with no explanation, he was just gone one day. He never cared enough to even call him when he was dying.

"Here," Dean said as he handed him the gift he had bought his grandfather. "I'll go." With that he bolted around Frank and made a break for the door.

"Dean, wait," his grandfather called after him.

Dean never slowed. Frank looked down at what his grandson had given him and it caused a sad smile to form on his lips. Dean had taken a picture of the two of them from one of their outings and had managed to find a frame in the shape of a Cadillac, his grandfather's favourite type of car. As he heard the door click shut behind his grandson, his already broken heart shattered into a million pieces.

"Good riddance," Margaret said obviously pleased with herself. Now their life could get back to normal.

"You're right," Frank said quietly.

"I am so glad you are listening to rea..." Margaret stopped abruptly when she saw the look of pure venom in her husband's eyes.

"Get out."

"I beg your pardon," Margaret exclaimed indignantly.

"You heard me. There was no reason to hurt Dean like that. He did nothing to you."

"Did nothing? He insulted Winifred and poor Tabbi."

"If you care so much for your precious Winifred, why don't you go live with her." Frank grabbed his car keys and headed for the door. He had to find Dean.

"Where are you going? We have guests."

"Do you even care that you completely destroyed that young man?" asked Frank in disbelief.

"I will not be embarrassed in my own home."

"Haven't you heard a word I said? You don't live here anymore. Don't be here when I get back," Frank said as he headed out the door. He was not looking forward to his phone call to John

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Dean, meanwhile, had a job to do. They had to finish this hunt. He didn't want someone to get hurt so he did what he always did. He sucked it up and forced down his emotions. He drove around until he got himself together and picked up his father and brother and together, they drove to the cemetary. Dean had his mask on completely. It was so secure that neither John nor Sam realized anything was wrong.

John Winchester may have been an extraordinary hunter, but he was also very human. He didn't want his cell phone going off in the middle of the hunt so he meant to set it to vibrate, but accidently turned it off and missed every one of Frank's frantic phone calls.

A/N: Hoped that you liked this chapter. I hope I kept Dean and John in character, that was my biggest worry when I wrote this chapter. I know that I probably messed up the dates in Mary's journal, so if you notice, please let me know and I will go back and edit. Please read and review and let me know what you thought.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

Once again a big thank you to Soar for her awesome beta work.

Dean picked up his father and brother and all three Winchester's drove toward the cemetary. Dean just wanted to get this hunt over with. He wanted to get back to the motel, pack their stuff and put this town behind them and never look back.

Dean was frantically trying to hold himself together. He couldn't let on to his father and brother that anything was wrong, so he put on his game face and told John and Sam all about his time with Grandpa, what a good time they'd had, how much he was going to miss him and how he was looking forward to lunch tomorrow with Ian and Alex.

He wasn't sure how he was going to explain that to his dad. Grandpa was supposed to drop the Porsche off with John so Dean could take the Impala. He could always fake a phone call and say that Grandpa had said something had come up and he'd had to cancel.

"Dean. Hey, Dean," John called trying to get his son's attention.

"What?"

"You and Sam get to dig. I'll take point," John said as he tossed the shovels toward his sons. Sam easily caught his. Dean missed and it ended up on the ground beside him.

"Getting slow in your old age," Sam teased his big brother.

Sam got his first clue that something was up with Dean when he just picked up the shovel and turned to follow his dad. Dean would never have missed an opportunity to get back at Sam.

"You alright, man?" Sam asked.

"Knock it off," Dean snapped.

"Fine, forget I said anything."

"Sam, wait. It's just... I just hate jobs involving kids." This was the Winchester version of I'm sorry.

"Me too," Sam replied in Winchester speak. This meant I forgive you.

"Boys," called John. "Move it. We're losing the night."

The boys caught up with their father and all three made short work of the fence. They easily located Simon's grave and began to dig. John kept a watchful eye out for any signs of the spirit. No one wanted to be wasted and that included supernatural beings, especially ones with unfinished business.

"Hey, Dad, how come me and Sam are always the ones that end up digging?"

"It's called the privilege of being the oldest," John explained with a smirk.

"Actually, he means he's getting too old," clarified Sam.

"I heard that, Samuel," John replied.

"Guess the hearing's not the first thing to go. Why don't you show us how it's done?" said Dean adding in his two cents and holding the shovel toward his father.

"Nice try and you should know, Dean, that my sight is just as good as my hearing. I see you've barely moved any dirt," John replied.

"Yeah, Dean, move it. At the rate you're going, we'll still be here in the morning."

"Then me and Sam will leave you here to finish while we go have breakfast," John teased.

Dean froze at his father's words. He knew his father was teasing him. He knew Sam was too. He knew his father didn't mean he wasn't good enough and that they were not really threatening to leave. It was just, the emotions that he was trying to pretend didn't exist were right below the surface, threatening to escape, and that's what he was hearing. _Keep it together, Dean. Get this done and we can get out of here, he thought to himself. _

Usually, when he was on a hunt, Dean was able to put everything behind him and get the job done. You simply had to focus because it was too easy for something to go wrong. Dean, however, was hurt far more by what had taken place at his grandfather's than even he was willing to admit to himself and his mind kept going back to his mother's note. He wasn't good enough. The story of his life.

_Stop it, he told himself. Just get this done._ Dean repeated this mantra to himself over and over. It worked for a while. He almost made it. They could see part of the casket when Dean's feelings boiled over once again.

Why? Why wasn't he good enough? Why did everyone leave him? All his life, he had done everything that was asked of him, given everything he'd ever had. Why was it never enough? What more did they want? What more did he have to give?

_Stop it, Dean, just get this done, he repeated again. _

"Dean. Earth to Dean. Come on, you awake?" he heard his dad call him.

"**_What?" _**Dean said not even bothering to keep the irritation out of his voice.

"What's going on? You haven't moved in five minutes," John inquired.

"If you think you can do better, be my guest," Dean snapped as he threw down the shovel, climbed out of the hole and started to walk away.

"Freeze," John ordered.

Dean obeyed instinctively.

"You want to tell me what's going on with you? I know you hate jobs involving kids, but you usually get the job done without going off into outer space every two minutes," John commented.

"Nothing's wrong. You answered your own question." Dean could feel himself starting to lose it. He had to get out of there. "I think we left the rock salt in the car. I'm going to go check."

"No, we didn't, it's right here," Sam called as he exited the hole and joined his brother and father.

"I meant the lighter fluid. I'll be right back." Dean turned and started toward the car.

"I'm talking to you. Don't walk away from me," John ordered.

**"You did!!" **Dean shouted to his horror. Before he could stop himself he added "**You both did!!"**

"What are you talking about?" John asked confused.

Dean, knowing he had said too much, remained silent.

"Tell me what's going on," John repeated.

"Is that an order, _Sir"_ Dean said sarcastically.

"Lose the attitude, Jonathan Dean," John said beginning to lose his own temper.

"**DON'T CALL ME THAT,"** Dean exploded.

"Tell me what's going on Jona... ah, um, Dean," John said stumbling over his son's name.

"Nothing, we have a hunt to finish. Let's go." With that, Dean went back to the hole and started digging with renewed enthusiasm. John and Sam just looked at each other, neither knew what to say. The same thought was beginning to enter both their minds though. However, before they had a chance to voice it, all hell broke loose.

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Frank kept trying to reach John. He had to let him know what had happened. He had first driven to their motel, but there was no sign of them and Frank feared that they had packed up and left. If that was what had happened, he knew he would never see them again. He vowed he would give up everything he owned if he could see his grandson one more time. He had to explain. He couldn't lose Dean.

He was pondering where to go next when his cell phone rang. He said a quick prayer that it was John but he frowned when he saw the name Adam Wright. He didn't have time for this.

"Hi, Adam," Frank greeted. "Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"_Frank, this isn't a social call."_

Frank felt his heart speed up. Adam was a doctor.

"What's wrong?"

"_I just thought that you would want to know that your grandson was admitted last night," Adam said, explaining the reason for the call._

"Is he okay? Tell me he's alright," Frank demanded.

"_He'll be fine, Frank. He hit his head pretty hard, but fortunately, there's no skull fracture."_

Frank let out a breath he didn't even realize that he had been holding. He said a quick goodbye to Adam, thanking the other man for calling, then he put the car into gear and sped toward the hospital, and heaven help anyone that tried to stop him.

John and Sam were in the waiting room when the doors burst open and they saw Frank rush toward them.

"Hi," Frank said hesitantly. He guessed that Dean had filled them in and he was not sure how he would be received. He was more than a little shocked when John greeted him warmly.

"John, what happened? Is Dean alright?"

"He's fine, concussion and a dislocated shoulder," John explained. He told Frank the same cover story he had told the doctor.

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Sam and John had, by unspoken agreement, decided that they would wait until they were both back at the hotel before interrogating Dean any further. They had a feeling they knew what was wrong, but neither really wanted to admit it could be possible that Dean had found out, and they did have to get this hunt finished. Dean salted the bones and Sam was just about to drop the match when Simon Fitzgerald's angry spirit showed up. He went for Sam and Dean, ever the protector, blocked Sam with his own body. It threw him and Dean smacked his head on the corner of a head stone and the awkward angle of the landing forced his shoulder from its socket.

John blasted the spirit with rock salt from his shotgun and this gave Sam time to torch the bones. John ran over check on Dean. He had a nasty gash on the side of his head and he wasn't conscious. John forgot all about his first aid training, grabbed Dean, yelling for Sam to catch up, and made a dash for the hospital. They came up with the cover story that Dean had been mugged by unknown assailants.

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"Can we see him?" asked Frank.

"In about a half an hour, they took him down for another CT. They wanted to make sure he wasn't bleeding intercranially.

"Thank God he's alright. Is it okay for me to go in" Frank asked, his voice rough with emotion.

"Yeah, of course," John said. However, a little voice in the back of his mind began making itself known once again.

"He found out didn't he," Sam said coldly, putting two and two together.

"Yes," Frank admitted.

"Please, Frank, tell me you're lying," John pleaded.

"I wish I could."

"Why didn't you tell me?" John said.

"I tried to call you all night, but I kept getting your voice mail," Frank replied.

John checked his phone and that's when he realized his mistake. He realized that he had turned the phone off. There were 22 new voice mail messages waiting. He cursed softly under his breath. They should never have been in that cemetary last night. He should have been talking to his son. He knew Dean had been resurrecting his walls and if he had to guess, they were now made of steel and reinforced concrete. There would be no way to get though them.

"How did he find out?" asked Sam.

"Margaret," Frank said simply.

"You promised, Frank. You said she wouldn't tell him. Do you know the damage you've caused?" Sam accused.

"There's nothing I can say but that I'm sorry. I didn't know that Margaret had a copy of the note that came with Mary's journal. She gave it to him," Frank explained.

"Damn her," John cursed. He wanted to find that woman and give her a piece of his mind.

Before John could say anything, they were interrupted by the doctor who informed them that everything looked good and that Dean was being settled back into his room. They wanted to hold him for twenty-four hours of observation because of the head wound though.

"Frank," John started. "I would love nothing more than to tell you to get lost, but if you don't go see Dean, he's going to think you don't want him around, so go in and explain. I can tell you right now that he probably isn't going to answer you, though."

"Thanks, John. I'm surprised you're not angrier at me and for what it's worth, I never meant for Dean to get hurt. This past week has meant so much to me."

"I'm plenty mad," John said "Furious, but yelling at you isn't going to do any good. It won't change anything. Right now, we have a lot of damage control to get started on."

"John, thank you," Frank replied sincerely.

Frank was grateful that John hadn't killed him on sight but was giving him another chance. One he probably didn't deserve. He didn't think he would get a third strike so he had to make this one count. He paced outside of Dean's room for a few minutes trying to decide what to say.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm his nerves, he opened the door to Dean's room and stepped inside. He saw the young man lying in his bed. He could see a large bandage on the side of his head and a bruise was starting to form around the edges of the dressing, his left shoulder was in a sling and he was pale.

The worst thing to Frank was the defeated look Dean wore. It caused Frank's heart to shatter once more. He cursed himself, he had caused this.

Dean looked up when he heard someone enter his room. When he saw his grandfather his gaze shifted back to the wall.

"Hey, Dean," greeted Frank. "I know you probably hate me right now and I don't blame you. I came to try to explain. I don't expect you to understand and I don't expect you to forgive me, but I have to try."

For the third time since running into the Winchesters, Frank told the story about wanting to make his father proud. He admitted that he had been afraid of letting his father down and failing to let the Jackson name live on. "It was never about you, Dean," Frank finished. He laid his hand on Dean's good shoulder.

Dean had remained silent through Frank's explanation, but he flinched when he felt the contact and Frank, fearing that he had overstepped his bounds, removed it quickly. Dean refused to make eye contact and refused to speak or even acknowledge his grandfather. He just wanted everyone to go away.

_Funny, he thought. The one time he wanted everyone to leave they seemed to be coming out of the woodwork._

_Once again, he wasn't good enough. The list was getting really long. His mom had lied to him, and if she'd lied about his name, what else had she lied about? Was she truly proud of him or did she consider him a burden? His dad had left him, Sam had left. Neither one had looked back, probably never even gave him another thought. He'd trusted Cassie and she'd thought he was nuts. His grandfather had never really wanted him in his life. He was most likely pretending to like him because he reminded Grand... no Frank, he corrected himself, of Mary. His grandmother had rejected him on sight. Hell, he wasn't even good enough for the demon. He hadn't come into their lives until Sam was born, Dean thought to himself morbidly._

_  
_"Dean, I'm not going far. I'll be here if you want to talk to me, yell at me, scream at me or call me names. I deserve it, but I hope you believe me when I say I love you, Dean, and I am so happy I got to know you," Frank said softly.

John had stood by the door and listened to Frank's speech. He hoped Dean took his grandfather up on his offer, but Dean remained silent. John knew he was protecting himself. He did this when things hurt too much.

"Dean, I'm sorry too," John said. "I'm sorry I kept the truth from you. You got along so well with Frank from the beginning, I couldn't take that away from you. I know you're feeling hurt and betrayed right now and I'm going to tell you to stop. I just want you to consider that Frank is telling the truth. Think about it, Son, if he didn't want you around, why did he take you places where he knew he would run into people he knew? You told me that he introduced you as his grandson everywhere you went. He does truly care about you, Dean."

Eventually, Frank left the room, but not the hospital, and John settled into a chair beside his son's bed. Sam was pacing outside, deciding if he should go find Margaret. He was seriously trying to stop himself from going to find Margaret and burn that witch at the stake. He checked on Dean to let him know he was here if he needed anything and if he wanted anything snuck in from Burger King.

Dean didn't answer. He just closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He had to get out and he knew his father was not going to let him sign out AMA so when John, who had been up all night, drifted off for real, it was the opportunity Dean had been waiting for. He got dressed and silently headed out the door.

Sam arrived a short while later and discovered his brother was nowhere to be found. He woke his father and they went back to the motel and Frank insisted on coming along. John was forced to accept this because a check of the parking lot revealed that Dean had taken the Impala. All Dean's stuff was gone, except for a little teddy bear with angel wings that was sitting on his bed.

This alerted John to just how upset Dean was. John had bought him that teddy bear when Dean was seven and in the hospital to have a hole in his heart repaired. He told Dean that his mom had sent it to him, so that Dean would always know he had a guardian angel watching over him whenever his dad couldn't be with him. That Dean had deliberately left it behind spoke volumes about his emotional state, he never went anywhere without it in his bag.

"Where is he, Dad?" Sam questioned.

"Think, Sam, Dean's upset, he's hurting and feeling like he's been betrayed by everyone. Where would he go if he wanted to feel safe?"

Sam and John looked at each other and the both said in unison. "Bobby."

Hope you liked this chapter. Please read and review and let me know what you thought.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

Thank you to Soar for all her awesome beta work.

"Think, Sam, Dean's upset, he's hurting and feeling like he's been betrayed by everyone. Where would he go if he wanted to feel safe?"

Sam and John looked at each other and the both said in unison, "Bobby."

"Sam, you go and check us out and I'll pack up. I want to get to Bobby's as soon as possible," John commanded.

"Um, Dad, aren't you forgetting one very important thing?" Sam asked. "Dean has the car. How are we supposed to get there?"

"Don't worry, I've got you covered," Frank said. "I'm coming with you."

"I don't know if Dean will want to see you, Frank," John said honestly.

"I don't care. You said it yourself, John, I have to keep showing up. I don't care if he sees me or talks to me, I just want him to know I'm there. I'm going with you," Frank stated firmly. "Besides, you won't believe how fast that Ferrari goes. You guys pack and get ready to leave, I'll go get the car. I'll be back in thirty."

With that, Frank walked out the door before John or Sam could comment. Both Sam and John were worried about Dean, but they knew that Frank was right. He had to keep trying. Father and son packed up their belongings and checked out and were soon waiting for Frank out front.

"Dad, do you think this is a good idea, letting Frank to come with us?" Sam questioned his father.

"Yeah. With Dean, actions speak louder than words, you know that. If Frank keeps showing up, Dean may start to believe him."

"Dad, Bobby's place, remember the devil's trap on the ceiling, all those books about demons and other supernatural stuff in plain view? How are we going to explain that?"

"We'll worry about that later, Sam, the most important thing right now is to find your brother."

Sam looked at his father and his expression could have been read by a three year old, who are you and what did you do with my father? John knew that look well.

"Sam, I swear, I'm a changed man. Almost losing you and Dean opened my eyes. I can't lose either of you. Getting to Dean is my first priority right now and if that means Frank has to find out what we do, then so be it," John said with conviction.

"Christo," was Sam's only reply, a small grin appearing on his face at his father's digruntled expression.

Before John could comment, Frank pulled up in the Ferrari and they were soon off. John insisted on driving, stating that he knew where Bobby lived so it would make more sense. Frank agreed and reluctantly relinquished the driver's seat. Frank was about to get into the passenger seat, but Sam put his foot down and made Frank get in the back. There was no way he was attempting to compress his 6'4" frame into the Ferrari's miniscule back seat for the 12 hour drive. Given the guilt Frank was feeling over the entire situation, he agreed with a sigh. It was going to be a really long drive. John put the key in the ignition and they started out.

"Dad, should we call Bobby and let him know to look out for Dean?" Sam asked his dad.

"Dean has a few hours head start and with the 12 hour drive, I would wait another few hours. If Dean doesn't show up there, Bobby's going to worry," John explained.

"Maybe we should call Bobby and ask him to call us if Dean shows up there," Sam said.

"Do you really want to explain to him why we need to find Dean?" John asked.

"Good point," Sam conceded.

John and Sam had faced a lot of things that would have most people screaming, without flinching, but a pissed off Bobby was one thing that terrified both of them, especially if either of them had done anything to hurt Dean.

"Um, John, who is this Bobby person, and are you sure Dean would go to him?' asked Frank. He was confused. If they were so sure that was where Dean was headed, it would make sense to call him and give him a heads up that Dean may show up there.

"Bobby is a good friend of ours. I trai... um, worked with him. He owns a salvage yard. We lived on his property for about a year and he has a real soft spot for my boys and you don't mess with them, Dean in particular," John explained. "Bobby has a protective streak toward him, much like Dean has toward Sam."

"Hey, Frank, hope you don't have a bad back," Sam said mysteriously.

Frank was even more confused when Sam refused to elaborate. John grimaced, thinking of his own back. He knew what Sam was talking about.

"Good thing its summer," John replied, leaving Frank to wonder what the hell they were talking about.

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Later that same afternoon, Margaret Jackson entered the Wichita Golf and Country Club with her friend, Winifred Butler. She had managed to cover for Frank the night before and told her guests that something had come up and that Frank had to leave. She didn't think Frank had been serious when he had told her to leave. He wasn't in his right mind and she was pleased with herself that she had removed the threat to her social standing.

She had called Winifred and asked her to join her for lunch at the club. Winifred agreed. She was also pleased when Margaret informed her that Dean had left town. Despite the fact that Frank's grandson was nowhere in her league, Tabbi was still upset that he had turned her down. Now that he was gone, she could go about finding someone worthy of her granddaughter.

"It is the most beautiful day outside, is it not, Winifred?" Margaret said greeting her friend.

"Yes, it most definitely is, Margaret darling," answered Winifred.

The two were seated and gave their orders to an attentive waiter and continued to gossip about everyone in the room. Then, Margaret spotted Paul Ames coming in.

"It's such a shame about what happened to his sister-in-law and her husband. That poor little boy. The Connells were such good people."

"Yes, they belonged here."

"Margaret, Winifred, it's good to see you," greeted Paul as he spotted them and came over to greet them.

"Hello, Paul. How are you?" Margaret returned the greeting.

"I'm doing okay. Things are still a little rough, but we're hanging in there," Paul said.

"Where's Michelle?" inquired Winifred.

"She took Steven to the movies."

"That poor boy," said Margaret.

"Hey, Paul, we have to get going or we'll be late for our tee time," a voice called to Paul.

"Coming, Mike," he answered. He turned back to the two ladies. "Oh, by the way, Margaret, Michelle gave me instructions that if I ran into you or Frank, I was to tell you to give that grandson of yours a great big hug from her and Steven. Ever since Dean talked to him in the restaurant the other day, he seems to be doing better. Today's the first day since his parents were killed that he asked Michelle to take him somewhere. He even slept in his own bed last night. Make sure to tell him thanks for me too."

They exchanged polite goodbyes as Paul departed. There was no way he could be talking about that boy, Margaret thought. Paul and Michelle were the right type of people, they couldn't have felt that way about someone who was so far beneath them.

They finished their lunch and as they were walking out the door, they ran into another friend of theirs, Neil Woods. He too greeted the ladies.

"Neil, it's so good to see you. How are Sherry and the kids?" Winifred greeted the newcomer.

"They're good, thanks. Margaret, how was your trip?"

"It was refreshing," Margaret answered tightly. She was still bitter that she'd had to come home early.

"I met your grandson at the auction last week. Could you give him a message for me?" Neil asked.

Margaret cringed. She had a feeling the boy had embarrassed her somehow. "Certainly," she said, even though she had no intentions of doing so.

"Tell him thanks for me. My car had this strange rattle and he gave me a tip on how to get rid of it. It worked great."

"I.. uh.. I will. It was good to see you, Neil," Margaret stammered. This couldn't be right. There was no way these people could have felt this way.

"Really, I thought Paul and Neil had class," Winfred said indignantly.

Thank God one person had still managed to maintain their sanity. "I agree, Winfred dear, we have seriously misjudged them. I think we should limit our contact in the future."

"I do agree, Margaret darling. Would you care to accompany me on a shopping expedition? I saw the cutest outfit I want to buy for my Tabbi."

"Oh, yes, I do enjoy a good shopping trip."

Margaret and Tabbi left the restaurant and went to the stores. During the course of their outing, they ran into two more people Frank and Dean had met during their time together. One had also met Dean at the auction and wanted to pass on his gratitude to Dean as well. He had been debating between two cars at the auction and Dean had run down the stats of both, and the pros and cons of each car. It had allowed him to make up his mind about which one to buy and he hadn't regretted it. The other was a business woman who had worked with Frank.

Frank had taken Dean to his old office to introduce him to everyone and she had been there to pick up a file to take home with her. Her 10 year old daughter had been with her and had developed a major crush on Dean when she met him. The thing was, her daughter had been born with a facial deformity and was very self conscious. It would have been very easy for him to laugh it off, as others had done, but the way he handled the situation had made her cry. She said that Dean had treated her daughter with nothing but respect and told her that he didn't deserve someone as pretty as her. She said that for the first time in her life, her daughter had truly believed that she was pretty. She wanted to add her thanks to the growing list.

Margaret just said that she would pass on the words. She was beginning to doubt her own mind. She couldn't have been wrong about Mary's boy could she? No, it wasn't possible. She was very glad to get home that afternoon. It had been a very bizarre day.

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Dean, meanwhile, was driving down the highway. He wasn't really sure where he was headed. He just knew that he had to get away from everyone. His head was starting to feel like it was about to split apart and his shoulder was killing him. He had found it difficult to drive with his arm in a sling, so he had discarded it after he left the hospital. A few hours into his drive, he pulled over at a roadside diner for coffee, get his bearings, and determine where he wanted to go. Maybe he could get a newspaper and find himself a hunt. He wondered if his family even knew he was gone.

_Probably not, he thought to himself. _Then, even though he had tried to stop himself, he suddenly found himself overwhelmed by the memory of the day Sam told him he was leaving.

_Dean had been in the kitchen of the run down apartment they were currently staying at, making dinner. Sam had approached him and showed him his letter from Stanford. _

"I got in, Dean, full scholarship," Sam announced proudly.

"I always knew you were a big geek, Sammy," Dean answered.

Sam grinned. He knew that was Dean speak for I'm proud of you. "The thing is, Dean, I want to go."

"You know Dad will never let you."

"I don't care what Dad wants. I'm not a kid anymore, Dean. I want to live my own life."

"What about your responsibility to this family?" Dean asked.

"What, Dad and his crusade? Dean, we still don't even know what killed mom. I don't want to live this life forever. What I want, Dean, is your help. Will you help me tell dad?"

Dean hated it when his father and brother put him in the middle. He had always tried to remain neutral in all their arguments.

"Sam, I... I ah," Dean stammered.

"Just forget it," Sam snapped. "I should have known you'd take his side. God forbid you ever question the man." With that, Sam stormed out of the kitchen. Dean, not sure what to do, just turned back to the stove and finished with dinner.

John came home later that night and Sam told him about Stanford, and that led to the epic battle that ended with John throwing Sam out of the house. Sam repeated his earlier actions and stormed out of the house. A frustrated John, looking for someone to take his frustration out on, turned to his eldest and screamed, "**This is your fault."** He then left to go drown his sorrows and seek out the company of his friends, Jim, Jack, and Jose, leaving Dean standing there, looking like he had been physically slapped.

The next morning, Sam had shown up and began packing all his stuff and no matter what Dean said, he was leaving. He even refused Dean's offer of a ride to the bus station.

After Sam left, Dean went to go check on his father. At first, he thought his father had left him too when he wasn't in his room, but Dean breathed a sigh of relief when he found his dad passed out on the couch. When John woke up later, Dean was there as he always was, with a cup of coffee, aspirin, a hand on his dad's shoulder and those three words.

"It's okay, Dad."

Things had gone downhill from there. John was short tempered and snapped at Dean for the smallest things and Dean never seemed to be able to do anything right. It all came to a head a few months after Sam left.

Bobby had alerted John and Dean to a fear demon in the area and they were staying with him while they hunted it. Bobby had been surprised when he saw Dean. He had resembled that frightened, insecure seven year that Bobby had first met. He had taken Dean under his wing back then and Dean had flourished under the attention.

The first time they took on the demon, it hadn't gone well for the Winchesters, and the demon had gotten to Dean. John had had to abandon the hunt and get Dean out of there. In a bad mood and looking for a fight, he took everything, all his fears and frustrations about Sam being gone, on Dean. Dean could still recall every word his father said to him that day.

"I am so disappointed in you, Dean. You know these things read minds and will do anything to get to you. You have to suck it up and be strong. It's a good thing Sam wasn't here to see that pathetic display. How could you have protected him if you were cowering in a corner? I didn't raise you to be weak and that's what you showed tonight, weakness. I need to know I can rely on you and with the way you acted tonight, how can I? How can I trust you to be the back up I need?" With that, John turned to his son. The look on Dean's face stopped John cold. John couldn't come up with a word to describe it. It was beyond a combination of devastation and defeat. John could see Dean's eyes filling with tears and watched as Dean tried desperately tried to stop them from falling. He did something he had never done before. He turned his back on his father and walked out of the house.

Bobby had found him sitting in the Impala but didn't make him talk. He just sat beside him and was there for when Dean needed him.

Dean startled and almost spilled his coffee. His mind flashing onto different memories

_Bobby patiently explaining to a seven year old Dean how a carburettor worked and the different tools used to fix it. _

Bobby sitting beside his hospital bed before his heart surgery and telling him it was okay to cry if he was scared, no matter what his Daddy said.

Bobby sitting by his bed after his heart surgery, trying to keep the seven year old occupied to keep his mind off the pain he was in.

Bobby giving him the necklace he wore religiously, right before his first hunt. Telling him it was okay if he was a little bit scared.

Bobby flying out to visit him when he was 13 and in the hospital with a punctured lung. Once again, letting him get his fears out when the lung ended up having to be surgically repaired.

Bobby flying out to attend his high school graduation.

Bobby being with him after the accident and making sure that the Impala was repaired when most would have sold it for scrap.

That's when Dean realized that he did have someone in his life that he could count on. Bobby. Suddenly overwhelmed by a desire to see his friend, he checked his map and was somehow not surprised when he found himself already headed there. He paid the bill and drove straight through to Bobby's home.

He pulled up to the house and hesitated before getting out. Bobby wouldn't tell him to leave would he?

_You know he wouldn't, Dean. Stop it._

Dean walked up to the door and knocked. It was answered shortly and Bobby was visibly shocked when he saw Dean standing there, especially since he saw no sign of Sam or John.

"Hey, Bobby, thought I'd stop by. Hope that's okay?" Dean asked tentatively. His confidence was still shaken.

Bobby took one look at the young man before him and knew immediately that something was wrong.

"Course it's okay, Dean. You're welcome anytime, you know that," Bobby replied, all the while wondering what the hell John had done this time.

He opened the door and invited Dean inside. Instinct told him not to push.

"What happened to you?" he asked, noticing the bruise and stitches in the young hunter's forehead and the way he was favouring his left arm.

"Angry spirit," Dean explained. "I'm fine."

"Of course you are. Sit down and let me take a look. I want to make sure those stitches don't get infected. What happened to you arm?" Bobby asked, concern making his voice gruff.

"Dislocated shoulder," Dean replied shortly.

"Isn't that supposed to be bound?" Bobby asked with brows raised.

"Yeah, just hard to drive that way," Dean explained.

"Hold on," said Bobby as he got his first aid kit. Given that they were hunters, the first aid kits were better stocked than one would normally find.

"Where's Sam? Are he and John alright?" Bobby probed as he applied some antibiotic cream to the wound on Dean's forehead and bandaged it again.

"Sam's with Dad. I'm sure they're fine without me," Dean said, his gazed lowered to the floor.

"Do they know you're here?" Bobby asked.

"Probably don't even know I'm gone." _Shut up, Dean. He told himself_.

"I'm sure they noticed."

"Probably don't care," Dean countered bitterly. _Dean, what the hell are you doing?_

"That's not true and you know it, Jonathan Dean." It was the worst thing Bobby could have said to him.

**"Stop it, don't call me that," **Dean exploded once again.

"Talk to me please, son. Tell me what's wrong," Bobby pleaded.

"I'm not your son," Dean shouted and then then he seemed to deflate. "I'm sorry, I'd better go."

Bobby couldn't help but flinch when Dean said that to him. Since he'd first met John, these boys had become like his own sons and he often referred to them as such. The boys, and even John, had never batted an eye when he called them son. That's when Bobby realized that whatever had happened, it must have been big.

"Dean, sit. You're not going anywhere except to bed. If you don't want to talk that's fine, I can respect that. You're in no condition to drive anywhere right now though."

Bobby administered a painkiller to Dean and pulled another sling from the first aid kit and made him wear it, he then sent Dean to bed. Dean offered a token protest, but the truth was that he was exhausted and he really didn't want to leave. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Bobby watched as Dean slept, his mind racing at just what could have upset Dean so much. He decided to wait a bit before he called John. He needed to get his temper in check. He vowed to himself that if John was anywhere but on his way here, he was going to do a whole lot more than just aim his shotgun at him.

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Sam, John and Frank drove to catch up with Dean. They were about two hours away from Bobby's house when John's cell phone rang. John glanced at the caller ID and was both relieved and nervous when he saw Bobby's name.

"Hello, Bobby," John greeted.

_"Johnny, what the hell did you do?"_ was Bobby's greeting.

"I didn't do anything," John tried to defend himself.

_"If you didn't do anything, then why is your first born here wondering if you even noticed or cared that he was gone?" Bobby asked. He was never one to sugar coat things._

John swore. "What did he tell you?"

_"Nothing, except he had a near melt down when I called him Jonathan Dean and called him son,"_

"I'd rather explain in person," John said.

_"You just better get your ass here now!! Got that, Johnny?" _

With that, Bobby hung up on him.

"He sounds mad," Sam said helpfully.

"Understatement," was John's reply.

"I could hear him from here," Frank said, commenting from the back seat. Frank was glad that Dean had someone he could go to, but Frank was getting really nervous about meeting this other man.

A couple of hours later, they pulled into Bobby's drive way and all three walked up to the door like they were on their way to an execution. If they failed to give Bobby a satisfactory explanation, it probably would be, John noted to himself. He also didn't miss the two pillows and two blankets that were stacked neatly on the bench next to the door.

John gathered up his courage and knocked. Bobby answered and didn't bother to hide his surprise when he noticed a third man standing there.

"Hey, Bobby," John said wearily.

"Johnny, glad you could make it," Bobby said, but his tone didn't sound all that sincere.

"How's Dean?" John asked.

"Sleeping," Bobby answered. "You are?" he added addressing Frank.

"I'm Frank Jackson," He replied unsure as to whether he should say more.

The name sounded familiar to Bobby, but he couldn't quite place it. Frank took stock of the fact that Bobby made no move to invite them in.

"It's late, Bobby," Sam said. "Can we discuss this in the morning?"

"Good idea, because I'm not waking Dean. Wait here," Bobby said as he shut the door. He came back a couple of minutes later carrying a third blanket and pillow. He handed them to Frank.

"Good night," he said and shut the door on them once again.

John sat down on the bench and pulled a blanket and pillow toward him.

"Might as well make ourselves comfortable," said John.

"He must have figured out Dean's mad at me too," Sam said as he grabbed his own blanket and pillow.

"Wait, we're sleeping on the porch?" asked Frank in disbelief.

"Yup, we hurt Dean," was John's only explanation.

"That's what you meant when you asked about my back," Frank said as comprehension dawned.

"Yeah, just be thankful he gave us a blanket and pillow," explained Sam

"He must be getting soft in his old age," John said.

Frank just sighed and realized that they weren't kidding. This Bobby person was making them sleep on the porch. He sat next to Sam and tried to make himself comfortable. It had been a long day and it was going to be an even longer night.

TBC

Hoped you liked this chapter. Please read and review.

A/N I hope no one is disappointed that I didn't have Sam or John confront Margaret directly. I was going to write that scene, but I figured that given the way she feels about John, it really wouldn't matter what he had to say. I figured if people she respected and admired told her about Dean, it would have more of an impact.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Still don't own them

A/N: A huge thank you to Soar for her invaluable help with this chapter and for the beta job. Any left over mistakes are mine.

Bobby awoke early the next morning. He checked on Dean and was glad to see that the young man was still asleep. He made a pot of coffee and got ready to go wake John. He wanted answers.

Bobby opened the front door and saw that John was already awake.

"Morning, Bobby," John greeted softly. "Mind if I go in and use the bathroom?"

"Go on," answered Bobby.

John didn't need to be told twice. After taking care of business, he followed the scent of coffee into the kitchen.

"Do you want me back outside?" John asked cautiously. He was trying to gauge Bobby's mood.

"Sit, talk," Bobby ordered instead.

John knew that Bobby was still mad. He got that way when he didn't trust himself not to say something that he might regret later. John could still remember the time Bobby had last been this upset with him. It was after he and Dean had battled that fear demon.

_John had just finished berating his son under the influence of the demon, he couldn't believe the look that Dean wore on his face though. It was as if someone had taken out his heart and walked all over it. After Dean subsequently walked out, John had wanted to apologize. He had just started after his son when he heard a shot gun being cocked behind him. He turned and saw Bobby aiming it directly at his head._

_"GET OUT!" Bobby shouted._

_"Bobby, I'm sorry. I just lost my temper," John started, attempting to appease the other hunter._

_"Did you not hear me the first time, Johnny? GET OUT!"_

_"I'll get Dean and go," John said finally._

_"I didn't say anything about Dean leaving, just you. You call your son tomorrow from a hotel. You as much as set foot on my property again though, and I will have you arrested. Do not test me on this. You can come back when Dean wants to see you." _

_John did exactly as he was told, deciding that a tactical retreat was necessary. He called Dean the next day and apologized to his son. A few days later, Dean called his father and said that he was ready to have another go at the demon. Dean seemed to have gotten his confidence back and the second time they faced that demon, it didn't stand a chance. John was proud of the way Dean handled the situation and made sure his son knew it. He didn't know how Bobby managed to put his son back together that time, but John was grateful. _

"Johnny, you listening?" Bobby ground out. "I said talk."

John took a deep breath and began.

"It started the day we went to visit Mary's grave. I was just getting ready to leave when we ran into Mary's father. I hadn't seen Frank in over 20 years."

"That's the guy with you, Mary's father?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, he wanted to meet the boys. I wanted to tell him no, but he just seemed so lost, I couldn't. I said I would leave it up to the boys. Dean decided he wanted to meet him, but Sam didn't."

Bobby wasn't surprised that Dean had wanted to meet his grandfather, but he was a little shocked that Sam didn't and it showed.

"The reason Sam didn't want to meet Frank is the reason we're all here," John explained. "Anyway, Dean and Frank really hit it off. The last time I saw him connect to someone like that was the day he met you."

"Did he hurt him?" Bobby asked. He was really starting to warm to the idea of introducing this Frank Jackson to the business end of his shot gun.

"Not in the way you're thinking," John denied instantly. "The affection was mutual on both sides. Believe me, Bobby, Frank cared about Dean," John said.

"I'm guessing something happened between the two," Bobby said wryly.

"Yeah, but you have to go back 27 years, to just after Dean was born. Mary made a promise to her father. Frank agreed to pay for the wedding and a down payment on a house if we would name our first born Jackson. Mary had planned to do that right from the start, but you know about the complications Mary had with Dean and his being premature," John explained.

Bobby could guess where this was headed. "He took one look at our boy and decided that he didn't want you to give Dean his name in case he didn't make it," Bobby finished.

"Yup, that's when Mary decided to name him after me," John explained with a touch of pride. He was upset about his father-in-law's treatment of his eldest but he was proud to have his son named after him.

"How did he find out, did Frank tell him?" Bobby and John didn't miss the threat that was concealed in those words.

"No, Frank wouldn't have, I swear. You should have seen Dean this last week, Bobby. He's been happier and more relaxed than I've seen him in a long time. I mean, he was even starting to open up about Mary. It was Margaret, Frank's wife, who told Dean the truth. She never liked me and I guess that extended to Dean."

"I think we need to get Frank in here. He and I need to have little chat," Bobby said and John cringed. He felt sorry for his father-in-law. He had received more than one of Bobby's little chats.

Before John could say anything else, they heard noises coming from the other room. Bobby and John both guessed that Dean was now awake.

"I'm going to go check on Dean. Wait here," Bobby instructed.

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Dean awoke and looked around the room he was in. It took him a moment to remember where he was, but instead of feeling anxious, he felt a sense of calm he normally experienced when he was at Bobby's. His head was feeling better, as was his shoulder, but he was still a little stiff and sore. He got up and went about his normal morning routine of going to the washroom and getting dressed. With his arm still sore, he decided to skip his shower and went looking for coffee.

He met Bobby in the living room.

"Morning so... um, Dean, how are you feeling?" Bobby asked with concern.

Dean started to say he was fine, but one look at Bobby and Dean changed his answer. "I'm still a little sore, but nothing too bad," Dean said truthfully.

"Um, Bobby, about last night, um, I, um, I'msorryaboutlastnight," Dean blurted out. He didn't really mind Bobby calling him son. He even missed it sometimes.

"No problem. Can you do something for me?" Bobby asked. He sensed that Dean wasn't ready to talk or confront his family, he needed a distraction. Usually, Bobby sent him into the salvage yard, but with his arm bound, he knew that Dean wouldn't be able to fix cars, so he decided to take advantage of Dean's other talent, his math skills.

"Anything," Dean said sincerely.

"This last week has been so busy I fell behind on my books. Can you look at them for me?" Bobby asked in a pleading tone. He knew there were several errors and he didn't have a clue as to where to begin to fix them. The last time they had been organized was just after the car accident, when Dean was too weak to join Bobby and John in the garage. So he would feel useful, Bobby had put him in charge of his finances. They hadn't been so well organized since.

"I can try, are they in your office?" Dean asked fearful of what condition they were in.

"Yup, and they're a mess."

"Just let me get some coffee and I'll get started," Dean said eager to pay Bobby back in some small way for the older man's kindness.

"I'll bring it to you," Bobby offered. He didn't want Dean running into his father just yet.

"Okay, I like being waited on," Dean said with a cheeky wink.

"Just don't get used to it."

"Hey, Bobby, um, thanks," Dean said.

"You're welcome," Bobby said. He started to go back towards the kitchen and then turned back to Dean and added softly, "Son." He couldn't keep the grin off his face when Dean didn't correct him

Dean went into Bobby's office and pulled the account books toward him, previous visits meant he knew where most things were in Bobby's house. They really were a mess Dean decided after giving them a brief look. He was surprised that Bobby had managed to stay in business for as long as he had. Dean looked up when he heard someone enter the room and he saw Bobby bringing him his coffee.

"You hungry?" Bobby asked.

"Pancakes?" Dean asked hopefully. Bobby wasn't much of a cook, but he made the best pancakes.

"Sure, just give me a bit of time, okay? I'll call when they're ready."

"No problem. I'll be here," Dean said.

Dean watched Bobby walk out of the room and wondered how he got so lucky to have Bobby in his life. He turned his attention back to the book and fuelled with caffeine, Dean looked at the first column of figures, his natural ability with numbers took over, and he began to work swiftly and confidently.

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Frank and Sam woke up about the same time that John went into the house, but Sam figured they would be better off letting John fill Bobby in on the situation. Trying to fill the uneasy silence between them, Sam told Frank the story about his and Dean's prank wars. He had Frank in chuckles when he told him about how he used to play connect the dots on Dean's freckles.

"That was a good one, Sam," Frank laughed. "What did he do back?"

"He put Nair in my shampoo one time. I had to wear a ball cap to school for a week. I got back at him good for that though," Sam said.

"What did you do?"

"I put a for sale sign in the window of the Impala. Poor Dean couldn't understand why he was getting so many calls asking how much he was selling it for. Then I took it a step further. I swiped the spare key and had a friend's brother drive off in it. I told Dean that I'd sold it for what it was worth and handed him a buck," Sam said with a grin.

"And you're still breathing?" Frank asked in disbelief. He knew how Dean felt about his car.

"Only because Dad was home," Sam explained. "Was Dean ever mad, he wouldn't talk to me for a week."

"He forgave you though, right?" Frank asked hopefully.

"Yeah, Dean's pretty forgiving, especially when it comes to family."

"What I did was a lot bigger than pretending to sell the Impala," Frank said. "I honestly wouldn't blame Dean if he never spoke to me again." Sam didn't miss the regret in Frank's voice.

"You're here Frank, that will count for a lot. Just give him time and never under estimate the size of my brother's heart," Sam offered.

Frank looked thoughtful. "That's what Mary said, that Dean's heart was so big his body couldn't fill it in. That's so true. I saw that when we went to dinner one night and we ran into friends of mine, the Ames'. They had their nephew with them. His parents had been killed a short time ago and what Dean did for that little boy was amazing. Although I don't know why I was so surprised, given what happened at my old office a few days before that."

"What did happen?" asked Sam. He knew that Dean had run into Paul and Michelle Ames when Dean told them how he got the information.

Frank found himself remembering.

_He had wanted to bring Dean by his old office and essentially show off his grandson. He knew that Dean was not comfortable with the idea though, so they made a compromise, Frank could introduce him to a couple of people he worked closely with._

_They stopped by the offices of a couple of people and then Frank wanted to introduce Dean to the Vice-President of the company, a woman by the name of Andrea Stanwick._

_They went to her office and Frank was pleased to see that she was in. He had met Andrea when she was a young intern with the company. As a woman in a man's world, she had to work twice as hard and had overcome every obstacle in her path. She had reminded Frank a lot of Mary and he supposed that was why he took such an interest in her. He took her under his wing and groomed her to eventually take over his job. She was now the Vice President of the company and next in line for the CEO position when the current one retired. _

_Frank was very proud to introduce his grandson to this woman, and as it happened, Andrea's daughter had been there as well. Andrea's daughter, Rachel, had been born with a facial deformity and was extremely self conscious about her appearance. It was plain to everyone in the room that the girl had instantly developed a crush on Dean when she met him, and Andrea watched with some trepidation as Rachel approached him. The last time this had happened, the man had laughed at her daughter and Rachel had been crushed. _

_"Hi," Rachel said shyly to the young man._

_"Hi," Dean said squatting to her level and sticking out his hand. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name's Dean."_

_The little girl giggled and replied, "Mine's Rachel."_

_"Rachel, honey," Andrea said calling to her daughter. "Are you about ready to go?" She wanted to get her daughter out of that room before anything happened that would hurt her feelings. She would come back for the rest of her files later._

_"You said you would get me some fries from the cafeteria," Rachel reminded her mother. She then turned toward Dean. "Maybe you could get some too, if you want. They make the best fries here," the little girl said._

_"We can go to McDonald's later okay?" Andrea said._

_"Mom, their fries aren't as good," Rachel said with a hint of a whine in her voice._

_"You know," Dean said, "I am kind of hungry and I love fries. I'm sure that your mother has a lot to catch up on so if it's okay with her, I would be honored if you would escort me to the cafeteria," Dean said gallantly._

_"Can I, mom, please?" begged Rachel._

_Andrea was torn. Usually, her daughter wouldn't set foot out of the office when she was here and now she was begging to go. There was also the fact that Andrea didn't know Dean from a hole in the wall, but she wanted to make her daughter happy. She did trust Frank and this was Frank's grandson._

_Frank looked at Andrea and knew what she was thinking. _

_"You can trust Dean," he whispered. _

_"Okay" Andrea said finally. You can go and I will meet you there in about 10 minutes," Andrea instructed. What was she doing?_

_"Thanks, mom," Rachel said with a huge grin._

_"I'll take good care of her Mrs. Stanwick," Dean assured her. He put out his arm and linked it with Rachel's and together they left._

_"It's really fine, Andrea," Frank said offering his reassurances._

_Ten minutes later, they left for the cafeteria and when Andrea and Frank arrived, they grabbed some food and headed over to the table Dean and Rachel were sharing. Andrea could see Rachel laughing at something Dean had said. Then she saw something that amazed her. _

_Her daughter had always worn her hair long so that she could hide the right side of her face behind it. Andrea saw her daughter reach up and tuck her hair behind her right ear so that her face was in plain view. Rachel looked at Dean and smiled shyly. Frank and Andrea joined Dean and Rachel and they all enjoyed lunch together. Andrea felt that Dean had to know that her daughter had a crush on him and he acted as though he was flattered as he made Rachel smile and laugh all through their lunch. He was the perfect gentleman and never once treated her like a kid._

_What Frank didn't know about was what happened between Rachel and Andrea after Frank and Dean had said their goodbyes. Something that forever won Dean Winchester a place in Andrea's heart._

_"Wasn't Dean cute, mom?" Rachel asked._

_"He was," she admitted. _

_"Do you think he's cuter than Daddy?" the young girl asked innocently. _

_"Yes and do not tell your father I said that or I will deny it," Andrea said with a fake frown and mock severity._

_The little girl smiled, pleased to have a secret with her mother. They pulled into the drive way of their house and the little brat, Maxine, who lived next door, came over when they got out. Andrea feared this would be the end of Rachel's good mood._

_"Hey, did you scare anyone today?" Maxine asked. She always teased Rachel about her appearance._

_Rachel wanted to run crying to her mother, but then she remembered Dean's words. He had asked her to pull her hair back. She had said that she was embarrassed because of her appearance, but Dean had told her that she had nothing to be embarrassed about, and if anybody made fun of her, it was because they were jealous that they weren't as pretty as she was. Once she stood up for herself, they would leave her alone. Rachel had heard her mom say numerous times that she was pretty, but she had to say that because she was her mom. When it came from a guy as good looking as Mr. Jackson's grandson, it had more of an impact. Taking courage in Dean's words, Rachel looked her tormentor straight in the eye and said "No, did you?"_

_Maxine wasn't sure how to react, Rachel never stood up to her._

_"You know Halloween was a long time ago..." she tried again, only to be interrupted by Rachel._

_"And I should have taken my mask off a long time ago. You know what, Maxine, you need, new material, that stuff's really getting old. "_

_"Yeah, well, you're so..."_

_"Ugly that the doctor slapped my mother and she has to tie a steak around my neck to get the dog to play with me. Try again," Rachel said, beginning to enjoy the flustered look on Maxine's face._

_"You um, you're..."_

_"You know, if brains were gas, you wouldn't have enough to power a flea mobile. You leave me alone, Maxine Smith, I'm not ugly or funny looking. I know that you're just jealous because you're not as cute as me." With that, Rachel turned and headed in the house._

_"Did you see that, Mom?" Rachel asked her mother as she ran to the house._

_"Yeah, you put her in her place. I'm so proud of you."_

_"Dean was right. I just have to stand up for my self. I can't wait to tell daddy."_

_After making sure Rachel was occupied, Andrea went straight to her room and cried. The next time she saw Dean Winchester, she was going to give him the biggest hug ever. When her husband came home that night and learned the whole story he wanted to hug Frank's grandson right along with his wife. Rachel didn't change completely, she was still a little self conscious in public, but she seemed to have gained some confidence. She now started to fight back when someone tried to pick on her, and the little brat from next door stopped coming near her daughter._

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Sam couldn't help but remember the times that Dean had interacted with Lucas and Michael. He would have told Frank the about it if he could think of a plausible story about why he was interacting with them in the first place.

"Dean is going to make a wonderful father someday," Sam heard Frank comment.

"He was always good with kids," Sam agreed. He felt his grandfather was right, Dean would make a wonderful father if circumstances were different.

During their discussion, an unspoken truce was reached between the two.

"Sam, Frank, could you two step in here." They heard Bobby order them into the house.

Frank couldn't help but notice that Sam looked like he had just been called to the principal's office. Frank couldn't blame him though, because he felt the same way.

They joined John in the kitchen and Bobby asked for their side of the story.

"You first, Sam," Bobby commanded.

Sam launched into his story about what had happened during the last week. He echoed John's sentiments about the connection between Dean and Frank.

"I guess that's why Dean got so mad at me. He figured I knew the truth from the beginning and feels I lied to him," Sam added at the end of his explanation.

"Your turn," Bobby said to Frank without commenting on Sam's story.

Frank told his story once again.

"I am sorry, I really didn't mean for Dean to get hurt over this," he finished.

Before Bobby had a chance to say anything, he heard a voice call out from behind him. "Hey, Bobby, I figured out what was wrong. You paid Sampson Motors twice for the parts they sent you, but you didn't pay Sampson's Garage at all. You're going to..."

Dean stopped short when he entered Bobby's kitchen. The last thing he expected to find was his father and brother, not to mention his grandfather, seated at Bobby's table.

"Dean, thank God you're alright," John said. "I was worried when I woke up and you weren't there."

"I'm surprised you noticed I was gone," Dean said. _Oh man, did I just say that out loud._

"Of course I noticed, Dean," John said gruffly.

"Then I'm surprised you cared." _I must have hit my head harder than I thought._

John's first instinct was anger, but he managed to hold it in check.

"Why would you think I didn't care, Dean?" John asked softly.

"Nothing, never mind, just forget I said anything." With that, Dean turned and walked out the kitchen.

John wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to go after his son, but he knew that Dean was still hurting and he was afraid of making it worse.

"You three wait here, I'm going to go talk to him," Bobby instructed. Then he followed Dean.

Bobby checked his office but there was no sign of the young man. He couldn't help but glance at his books. He could see several corrections, and with the adjustments, they balanced perfectly. He then checked the rest of the house. When he didn't find him Dean anywhere inside, Bobby had a feeling where the younger man might go.

He left the house and walked out into the salvage yard. He found Dean in his garage.

"Hey, Dean, is that your grandfather's Ferrari in the driveway?"

"Yeah," the younger man replied without looking at Bobby.

"Want to hot wire it and take it for a spin?" Bobby asked. He was trying to loosen the kid up, but part of Bobby really meant it.

"If you ask gran... Frank for the keys, he'd probably take you for a drive," Dean said.

"Maybe later, but I heard Frank, Sam and John's side of the story. I want to hear yours," Bobby stated firmly.

"Nothing to tell," Dean replied.

Bobby knew that Dean had things he needed to get off his chest, and he had a way of making Dean talk by literally cornering him so that Dean had no escape.

"There's lots to tell, now start talking," Bobby instructed, his voice brooking no argument.

"No," Dean replied sullenly.

"Dean, why did you come here?" Bobby asked gently.

"Because it was on the way," Dean answered.

"Dean, why did you come here?" Bobby repeated. This was another tactic he used. If he asked the same question over and over, Dean eventually lowered the walls.

"I was in the neighbourhood," Dean tried again.

"Dean, why did you come here?"

"You got a hearing problem? I wanted to say hi."

He was starting to crack. "Dean, why did you come here?"

"Because…I wanted to be here?" Dean was beginning to sound less sure of himself.

_One more time Bobby thought. _"Why, Dean, why did you want to come here?"

"I WANTED TO FEEL SAFE," Dean exploded. With that, he tried to bolt. Bobby stepped in front of him, blocking the younger man's retreat.

Bobby hated having to do this to the young man he considered a son, but he knew it was necessary and he had to keep pushing. Bobby walked up to Dean and put an arm around his shoulders and led Dean over to a bench.

"I'm glad you feel safe here, son, and anytime you need a place to get away you're welcome here and you know it."

"Thanks, Bobby," Dean acknowledged softly.

"Now tell me what happened," Bobby said gently, but firmly.

"Grandpa didn't want me," Dean said simply, in a tone that broke Bobby's heart. "I wasn't good enough for him."

"Dean, how old were you when you first met your grandfather?"

"According to mom, three days."

"Now tell me what you could have possibly done to give your grandfather the impression you weren't up to his standards at three days old?"

"I wasn't strong enough," Dean said.

"Why, what did you do that made you weak?" Bobby asked.

"I was early," Dean explained.

"So, that's your fault? Dean, your father told me the story of when your mother was pregnant. He said that she followed every instruction that the doctor gave her. Sometimes, things like that happen. There was nothing you could have done to stop yourself from coming early. From what I heard, you weren't even supposed to survive the night, yet three days later, you were still hanging on. Explain to me where you were weak."

"Then why did Frank ask mom not to give me his name? He thought I wasn't going to make it?"

"Once again, explain to me how that was your fault. You were fighting with everything you had and I'd say you came out on top. If Frank chose not see that, it's his weakness not yours," Bobby said firmly.

Dean wanted to protest, but Bobby's words were starting to sink in. However, he had been blaming himself for things for 23 years and that wasn't going to change in a day.

"You wouldn't understand," Dean said.

"Try me," Bobby countered.

"I was never supposed to be named after Dad. It feels like I don't have a name. It was almost as if it was an after thought," Dean explained. "I told you that you wouldn't understand."

"I do understand what you're saying, son. Your dad told me why your mom gave you his name. She said you had his strength and that his name suited you. If your name was an afterthought, she could have picked any one of a thousand names, yet she still chose to give you one that meant something."

Dean thought about Bobby's words.

"Dean, one other thing I want you to remember. 20 years ago I met Jonathan Dean Winchester Jr and that young man became like a son to me. I don't care if your name's Dean, Jack or Orvall, I love you just the way you are." With that, Bobby pulled Dean into a gigantic bear hug and refused to let Dean pull away. Bobby didn't usually come right out and tell Dean that he loved him, he felt that Dean knew, but he also knew that right now, Dean needed to hear it.

"Thanks, Bobby," he said when Bobby let him go, then he shuddered.

"What is it, Dean?"

Dean looked at the man and said, "Orvall."

"That's my brother's name. You should consider yourself self lucky, kid," Bobby said wryly.

"You know, Dean's not so bad," Dean admitted. "And Bobby…"

"Yes, son."

"I ah... I ah… I love you too," Dean mumbled. He used the L word even less than Bobby.

Bobby knew that Dean was far from being over this, but he felt as if he was starting to make some progress. He felt that Dean had to have a serious discussion with his family. He knew that Dean's feelings toward his father right now were about more than just this name business, and he wasn't going to feel better until he got it all off his chest. Right now, he needed a break though.

"Come on, I know you've got to be hungry. Let's go back to the house and I'll make pancakes."

"Chocolate chip?" Dean asked hopefully.

"Is there any other kind?"

Bobby put his arm around Dean's shoulders and led him back to the house.

Please read and review and let me know what you thought.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

A/N: Once again a quick thank you to my beta reader Soar. You rock. Any left over mistakes are completely my own.

Disclaimer: Still don't own them

The tension in Bobby's kitchen was thick, so thick it was almost as if it was a separate entity. It wasn't as if the men seated at the table were really mad at each other. John knew that Frank was sincere in his regret over everything, Frank and Sam had reached a truce during their time on the porch, and there was nothing left for Frank to say, there would be no point in apologizing again. So all three men sat in silence. Father and son hoping that Bobby could work his magic once again and Frank, determined to come up with something that he could do to patch his relationship with his grandson. He didn't want to go home without knowing that Dean was still in his life.

"John," Frank said breaking the stillness. "Can you show me where the washroom is?"

"Go out the door and turn right. It's the second door on the left," John said as he pointed it out.

Frank left and Sam looked at his father.

"Dad, you know he has to pass by the living room," Sam stated. "What are you going to say when he sees it?"

John sighed heavily before answering. "I don't know," John started then he paused. "Actually, no, that's not true. Believe it or not, I'm thinking of just telling him the truth."

"You can't be serious," Sam gasped, looking at his father like he had finally lost it.

"I'm tired, Sam, tired of all the secrets and the lies. We might have avoided this whole situation if we had just told Dean the truth from the start."

"Yeah, that would have worked out real well," Sam said sarcastically. "Dean, that man standing by your mother's grave, he's your grandfather and guess what, when you were born, he didn't want you named after him because he was scared you were gonna die and his name would have died with you. Great idea, Dad, that would have gone over with Dean real well."

"Don't take that tone with me, Samuel Francis. That's not what I would have said and you know it," John snapped.

"Then enlighten me. What would you have done?"

"I don't know," John admitted honestly. "You have to admit though, the fact that Dean formed a bond with Frank and then found out, it made the situation worse..."

"No way, Dad!! What about that night Dean came home from having dinner with Frank? He didn't know Margaret, he had never met her and you saw how upset Dean was when she ignored him. It would have killed Dean no matter how well he knew Frank, he's family. The only way we could have avoided this situation was if you told Frank to get lost that day at the cemetery, like you should have done. Dean wouldn't have ever found out if it wasn't for you," Sam blurted out before he could stop himself.

"So you're saying this is my fault?" John asked.

"If the shoe fits," Sam said.

"**_HOW DARE YOU!!" _**John thundered. "**_Are you..._**"

"Crazy?" A voice piped up from behind them.

Sam and John turned and they saw Frank coming back in the kitchen. He had just found the washroom when he heard the escalating voices and he returned to the kitchen.

"**STAY OUT OF THIS, FRANK!!" **both Sam and John yelled in unison.

"NO, I WILL NOT," he yelled back. "What would happen if Dean had walked in during the middle of that? Do you really think you screaming at each other is going to help the situation?"

That sobered John and Sam instantly. They knew Frank was right.

"Not to mention what Bobby would have done. I just met him, but even I get that it's not a good idea to piss him off. I don't know about you, but I would like to sleep inside tonight," Frank said trying to be the voice of reason.

Both John and Sam went quiet. They knew that Frank was right. If Bobby had made any progress with Dean, it would have all been destroyed if he had walked into the middle of a fight between Sam and John and they both knew that Bobby would destroy them too.

"Can you two remain civil?' Frank chastised.

"Yes," John said meekly.

Frank left and returned on his mission to freshen up. He was really curious about Bobby and his house. Bobby didn't give the impression that he was the scholarly type, yet there were books stacked everywhere, shelves were stuffed to the point of over flowing and what couldn't fit on the shelves, was resting on the floor. Curiousity got the better of Frank and he went over and looked at some of the titles. They all seemed to be about demons and some of the books didn't even seem to be in English. They did not look like fictional books that one would read to give themselves a good fright either. Frank didn't miss the strange design on the ceiling of the living room as he passed by, not to mention the white substance that seemed to line every window.

Frank also wondered how his son-in-law had come to meet this man. John had said that he had worked for him at one point, but Frank knew without a doubt that there was so much more to the story. How and why did he become so protective of Dean and more to the point, why did he have to? Wasn't that John's job? What was with all the demon stuff? He decided that he was going to get to the bottom of everything.

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Bobby led Dean back to the house. He was pleased when the young man didn't resist Bobby's arm over his shoulder.

"Dean, are you okay with Sam, John and Frank being in the kitchen while we eat? I'll put them outside if you want," Bobby offered.

Dean couldn't stop himself from grinning. He always got a kick out of Bobby making his father sleep outside, not to mention the fact that his father actually listened to Bobby.

"No, I'm good. They can stay," Dean answered, his voice steady.

They entered the house and Bobby went into the kitchen to make breakfast. No one missed the fact that Dean avoided his grandfather, father and brother, going directly to the room he considered his. Bobby figured he needed a chance to digest everything they had talked about.

"Frank, John," Bobby said. "Breakfast will be in about half an hour. Go find something to do."

"Bobby," said John. "Dean..."

"Is fine for now, just leave him be for a bit," Bobby said firmly.

Frank wanted to get John alone for a chat, so he asked Bobby for permission to see his salvage yard and then asked John to show it to him.

"Just be back in half an hour because I'm not coming looking for you," Bobby replied.

"Don't worry, we will, I'm starving," said John, hoping that Bobby was making pancakes, his were the best.

They turned to leave and Sam got up to join them. Both father and son knew that Frank was interested in a lot more than the salvage yard.

"Sam," Bobby called. "Stay."

Sam instantly obeyed Bobby and instead watched as his father and grandfather walked out of the room.

"I think I should go with them Bobby. Dad wants to tell Frank the truth," Sam explained to the older man.

"Let him," Bobby stated firmly.

"Do you think that's wise?" Sam asked disbelievingly.

"It doesn't matter what I think. Sam, let me ask you a question, and answer honestly, okay? Do you think that Dean still wants a relationship with his grandfather?"

Sam thought for a minute before answering. "Yes," he said simply.

"Well then, I think Frank has to know the truth. We've seen where secrets lead. What if Dean forgives Frank and then Frank finds out some other way, decides he can't handle it then and walks away?" Bobby asked.

"Then we're right back where we started," Sam conceded. "But what if that happens now, how does that help Dean?"

"As much as it hurts me to say this, if it is gonna happen, it's better that it happens now, before Dean has a chance to heal," Bobby said softly.

"I don't see how," Sam said stubbornly. "Either way, Dean gets hurt."

"Think about it, if Frank walks away now, then Dean can deal with it here and now. What if Dean puts all this behind him and patches things up with Frank and returns to his old self, then Frank finds out and leaves?"

"Then Dean falls apart all over again," Sam finished.

"Yup, and contrary to what you might think, Dean's not invincible," Bobby said softly.

"I know that," Sam said defensively.

"Do you? Dean's your older brother, he's your superman," Bobby said not unkindly. "He's just as human as you and me, and Sam, how many more times do you think he can fall apart before no one, not even me, can put him back together again?"

Sam could see what Bobby was saying and he could understand what his father had been trying to tell him earlier.

"Dean could so kick superman's ass," Sam said affectionately.

"Yeah, I agree. Now, get out of here so I can make breakfast before that brother of yours eats the sheets off the bed, and speaking of Dean, go talk to him," Bobby instructed the younger man.

"I thought you said to leave him alone," Sam said, his confusion evident.

"I meant that more for the other two. Dean's got a lot to work out with your daddy and your mama's daddy, and he's going to need you to get through it. I don't think Dean's really all that mad at you, it's more guilt by association. Oh and Sam, make sure he talks. Push if you have to, it's the only way he's going to get past this."

"Thanks, Bobby," Sam said as he made his way out the kitchen and headed towards the room he and Dean shared when they were at Bobby's. This was one conversation that he was not looking forward to

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Frank and John headed towards Bobby's salvage yard. Frank was trying to come up with a way to bring up what he wanted to really talk about. Finally, he just decided to come out with it, he was never one to mince words.

"John, what's the whole story? I know there's more than you're telling me and please don't insult me by pretending you don't know what I'm talking about."

"Sit down, Frank," John said. He had made up his mind to tell Frank everything.

"So, who exactly is this Bobby? What's all that satanic stuff in his living room?" Frank asked

"I met Bobby about 20 years ago. I was referred to him by a friend, a man named Jim Murphy."

"You mentioned he gave you a job," Frank prompted.

"That's not the whole truth. He did give me a job, but there was a lot more to it. Look, there is no easy way to say this, but Jim put me in touch with Bobby because I needed to learn about demons and Bobby's an expert," John explained.

That was the last thing that Frank had expected to hear and it showed plainly on his face. "What the **_hell_** are you talking about? What possible reason could you have where you would need to learn about demons? They don't exist," Frank said with conviction.

"You're wrong," John said softly. "They do. It wasn't just demons that I was learning about. It was all sort of supernatural stuff, I needed to learn how to kill it."

"You're crazy," Frank said, he was really starting to get freaked out.

"I know it sound crazy, Frank, but I swear it's true."

"Alright, let's pretend for a moment I believe you, and I don't, why the hell would you want to know how to kill, what did you call it, supernatural stuff?" Frank queried.

"For Mary," John said softly.

Frank stiffened. "What does she have to do with this?"

"She was murdered," John said as he started to explain.

"John, it was a fire, an accident, faulty wiring," Frank said.

"No, she was killed, Frank. I fell asleep that night, in front of the TV. I awoke when I heard Mary scream," John paused and forced his emotions down before continuing. Even after all this time, it was still hard to talk about that night. "I ran up to Sam's nursery and Sam seemed to be alone. That's when I saw what looked to be blood dripping into Sam's crib. I looked up and Mary was on the ceiling. The next thing I knew, she burst into flames. I grabbed Sam, put him into Dean's arms and told them to get out. I went back, but I couldn't save Mary," John looked up and if looks could have killed he knew the boys would be orphans.

"**_DON'T YOU DARE, JOHN WINCHESTER. DON'T YOU INSULT MY DAUGHTER'S MEMORY LIKE THAT!!!!!"_** Frank shouted. This was more than he could bear. He got up. He was getting out of here.

"Frank, please," John said in a tone much like the one Frank had used when John was going to walk away at the cemetary. Frank stopped.

"You know I loved Mary, with all my heart and soul. It almost killed me when she died and if it wasn't for the boys, Dean especially, it would have. Please, Frank, trust your instincts. I'm not lying. Mary was killed by something, something not human. I vowed to get the thing that took her from me. I didn't find out until last year that it was a demon, a real nasty son of a bitch. I won't rest until I can figure out a way to kill it."

Frank was torn. There was no way that what John was saying could be true. Yet John seemed so sincere that Frank was actually tempted to believe him.

"So you're saying... no, there's no such thing," Frank said. He sounded less sure of himself though. "Please, tell me you didn't fill the boy's heads with such nonsense."

"Dean and I aren't mechanics, Frank, we're hunters. We hunt down these creatures. Sam left to go to school and he joined us again after his girlfriend was killed the same way Mary was," John continued his explanation.

Frank couldn't believe his beloved grandson was in on this. What had John done to the boy?

"No wonder Dean's so screwed up, with you filling his head with this trash," Frank murmured to himself.

"Don't, Frank. I admit I made a lot of mistakes with Dean, but he's not screwed up. He's the sanest one of us all. He wants to avenge his mother's death, but he's in this more to help other people. He wants to stop other families from being torn apart like ours was. There's more, Frank and you need to hear it all," John stated.

John launched into his explanation. He held nothing back. He started with what had happened immediately following the fire, how he met Missouri, who then put him in touch with others. He told him all about Jim, Caleb and Bobby, and Jim and Caleb's deaths. He launched into an explanation of how he'd trained the boys. He even told him about his and Sam's fight about his decision to leave for school. He told him about how he had found out that the demon had targeted Sam for, as yet, unknown reasons, and about Sam's visions. He talked about the events that led up the accident, getting possessed by the demon, exactly what the Demon had said to Dean while wearing his face, and about the demon almost killing Dean while he was still in John's body. When he was done, he was exhausted.

Frank wasn't sure what to say. John couldn't be making all that up, could he, and more importantly why would he? It was still hard for Frank to give up his belief that these things didn't exist.

"Frank, I don't expect you to believe me, but all I'm asking is that you think about what I said. I almost lost my boys and it really made me take a hard look at what I was doing, so I am going to ask you one thing," John said.

"What's that?" asked Frank.

"Don't walk away from Dean. Whether you believe me or not, I don't care. You never want to see me or Sam again, I can live with that, but please, Frank, don't leave Dean. He doesn't deserve it," John pleaded.

"I need time to process this, John, but I promise, I won't dismiss anything, even though part of me wants to call the men in white coats. I'm not walking away from Dean though, he's become too important to me."

"I can give you some proof, sort of," John offered

"How?" Frank asked.

"That house that gave your company so much trouble? It's taken care of," John explained.

"You're saying that that local legend was true?" Frank asked.

"Yes. It was haunted by the spirit of Simon Fitzgerald. That's how Dean got hurt that night, he wasn't mugged, he got knocked into a tombstone."

"Does he get hurt often?" asked Frank with concern.

"No, not really, Dean's the best. Come on, we better get back to the house. Bobby won't hold breakfast," John said.

"Next, you'll be telling me that the hook man exists," Frank said as he stood and prepared to make his way back to the house.

John grinned. "Well, he did, but not anymore."

Frank followed John back to the house and he listened to John tell the story

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Dean lay on his bed, he was thinking about everything Bobby had said to him. He heard a light tapping on the door.

"Come in, Sam," Dean said.

"How'd you know it was me?" asked Sam as he opened the door and entered the room.

"Lucky guess," Dean explained.

Sam wasn't sure where to start, but he knew that he had to. He knew Dean would never start a chick flick moment.

"Dean, I'm sorry," he offered.

"It's okay, Sam," Dean said.

"No, it's not, Dean. You're upset and I know that it includes me."

"I told you, Sam, it's fine. That's it, we're done, end of discussion," Dean said flatly. He really didn't want to get into this.

"We're not fine, Dean. I need to say something. Dad told me story the day he showed us the stuff he had in his memory box. I think they had taken you for tests or something, we were in the cafeteria and he told me everything. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the real reason I didn't want to meet our grandfather. I was upset at the way he'd treated you."

"That day in the library, Sam, you could have told me then," Dean accused.

"I wanted to, Dean. It's just that you seemed so eager to meet him and I know how you feel about family. Dad told me how about how the two of you connected instantly. You seemed so happy, Dean. I couldn't take that away from you," Sam said sincerely.

"You were trying to look out for me?" Dean said. "I appreciate that, Sam, I really do, but you and Dad have to remember that I am not made of glass."

"It's just everything that what with everything that happened after the accident, with what Dad said to you when he was possessed, you can deny it all you want, but I know that thing got to you. I was afraid of how this would affect you," Sam said trying to explain his reasons for not coming clean about Frank.

"Alright, Sam, I'm going to say this once and if you ever repeat it, I am going to deny it. It was rough after the accident, but I always feel safe when I'm here. I was managing to deal with everything that happened and yes, Sam, I mean I was really dealing with it, not burying it," Dean admitted.

Sam had to admit that what Dean said was true. He had made considerable emotional progress in the four months they'd stayed at Bobby's.

"That's kind of what me and Dad were worried about," Sam repeated. "That the stuff with Frank would set you back."

"I honestly don't know how I would have reacted, Sam. I wasn't given the chance," Dean pointed out.

"I'm sorry, but Dean, how do we go about telling you something like that?"

"I don't know, Sam, and yes, it would have hurt no matter who told me, but it wouldn't have stung quite so much if you and dad told me from the start instead of being blindsided," Dean explained.

"You're right. It wasn't fair of me or dad to keep it from you. I just hate to see you get hurt. I was trying to protect you. I even went to Frank when I was supposed to be getting breakfast and threatened him that he better not upset you, or he was gonna have to deal with me. I wanted to protect you for a change," Sam admitted.

"Hey, that's my job. I mean, who's the big brother here?" Dean said.

An evil grin spread across Sam's face. "Me."

Dean threw a pillow at his brother.

"Bitch," came Dean's expected reply.

"Jerk," Sam gave his expected line the exact same time as Dean. Sam grinned again. He knew that Dean had just forgiven him.

"Boys," they heard Bobby call from the kitchen. "Breakfast."

"Great, I'm starving," Sam remarked. He was really hoping Bobby had made pancakes. He made the best ones.

"Hey, Sam," Dean called. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"You said that Dad told you the whole story. What happened after you were born? Did Gra..., Frank want you to have his name?" Dean asked even though he already knew the answer.

Sam was tempted to lie and tell Dean that Frank had rejected him too, but he had a feeling that Dean knew and was testing him.

"Yes," Sam stated softly and he didn't miss Dean flinch, and his face formed into an expression that Sam had trouble reading. "Dad said it had nothing to do with me though."

"You were healthy when you were born," Dean reasoned.

"Don't read anything into it. If mom had the same complications, Frank would have had the same reaction." Sam pointed out.

"Why is your middle name Francis?" Dean asked suddenly.

"I asked Dad that exact same question. He said that mom always kept her promises and she promised to name her son after her dad. He said that Frank never liked his first name and she did it to piss him off."

"Thanks for telling me the truth," Dean said.

"I should have done it from the start. So come on, little brother, let's go get some breakfast," Sam teased.

"You really need to get some new material, Sam, that's one getting so old."

"The classic's never do, Dean. Come on I'm hungry."

The brother's left the room and went to the kitchen. Bobby heard them teasing each other and he knew that they had managed to work things out. Not that there was ever a doubt in Bobby's mind. Bobby didn't think Dean was capable of staying mad at Sam for any length of time. Now, if only he could work things out that easy with his father and grandfather. Somehow, Bobby didn't think that would go so smoothly.

A/N Please read and review and let me know what you think. Reviews feed my muse.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

A/N: I am posting this even though the alert are down. Once again thank you to Soar for the beta work. Any left over mistakes are completely mine.

Bobby had just gotten breakfast on the table when he heard the front door open. He glanced toward the door of the kitchen and was relieved when he saw both John and Frank walk through it. He had been worried that Frank wouldn't be able to handle what he was sure John had just told him. Despite what he'd told Sam earlier, if Frank had walked out, Bobby had fully intended to hunt the man down.

Neither Bobby nor Sam missed the change that came over Dean when his father and grandfather entered the room and helped themselves to some pancakes. One minute he was teasing Sam about something, and then he stopped mid-sentence and looked at his plate, scowling. His appetite disappeared along with his voice. He pushed his food around his plate, making no real move to eat it and Bobby frowned. He knew that Dean was really hurting. No matter how sick or hurt he was, Dean never missed Bobby's pancakes. He knew that he had to get Dean to talk some more, it was the only way he would start to feel better and as much as Bobby hated to do this, he was going to have to manipulate the situation so that Dean had no choice. The only decision left was which one to tackle first. He chose Frank because he knew that Dean had a lot to work out with his father and if he forced that confrontation right now, Dean would have nothing left when it came to working things out with Frank.

"Hey, Johnny, after breakfast I need you to help me out with something in the garage. Sam, you can do the dishes and Dean can you call Sampson's Garage and Sampson Motors for me?" Bobby requested.

"Sure, no problem," replied all three Winchester's in unison.

"Bobby," added Dean. "Should I ask Sampson Motors to credit your account and send a new check to Sampson's Garage, or should I ask the motor place to send you a check?"

"Explain the situation to the motor place and ask for a credit. Then call the garage and let them know that that a check is on the way. There are checks in the right hand desk drawer. Just fill it out and leave it on the desk and I can sign it," Bobby explained.

"'Kay," Dean said. He pushed aside his mostly uneaten breakfast and bolted out of the room.

Breakfast was finished in silence. When they were done, Sam gathered the dishes and set out to wash them. Bobby sent John to the garage and told him he would be there shortly.

Frank suspected that Bobby had plans for him as well and he was right.

"Frank, I need to talk to you a moment," Bobby ordered.

"Sure," Frank replied.

"The only way Dean's going to get past this is if you talk to him," Bobby said. "He's going to resist and do everything in his power to get out of it. The first thing he's going to try is to run, so you have to corner him, literally. Don't give him a means to escape. Then the flippant remarks and smart alec answers are going to start. So if you ask him a question and he won't answer, keep asking and eventually he'll let you in. I don't like telling you this because I hate it when my boy is hurting, but he needs to get this out. You have to push, got it?"

"Yes," Frank said and then hesitated.

"What's on your mind?" Bobby asked.

Frank glanced toward the door. "I want to ask you something that I would prefer Dean didn't hear, but I was wondering, and you can tell me to go to hell if you want, but why are you so protective of Dean? Isn't that John's job?" Frank asked, the confusion evident in his voice.

Sam turned his head so that he could listen. He was curious as to what Bobby had to say.

"Don't worry about Dean. Ruth, the receptionist at Sampson Motors is a big flirt. That's why I told Dean to call them first. He's going to be awhile. John told you everything, right?" Bobby confirmed.

"Yeah, I want to believe because I can't find a reason for him to make that stuff up, but it's so hard," Frank said.

Bobby decided to explain, no more secrets. "Remember, Frank, John had his whole world rocked, just like you did. One day he has a beautiful wife and sons, a home and a successful business and the next, his wife is killed. You had a hard time hearing about it, now put yourself in John's shoes and imagine witnessing it. It would affect anyone. John had a lot to deal with, it can be understood that he had a hard time coping, but Dean stepped up to the plate like you wouldn't believe. I met him when he was just seven and even then, he was more responsible than some adults are. John relied heavily on him and I think sometimes he forgot his son was still a child himself. Someone needed to remind him now and then," Bobby said

"You gave yourself the job?" Frank asked.

"Yup and believe it or not, it was a skinned knee that caused me to make that decision," Bobby said. He paused a moment as he recalled the memory. "Sam and Dean were out front playing and Sam tripped and skinned his elbow. Dean carried him into the bathroom and made Sam feel like he was the bravest kid on the planet for surviving that cut. A couple of weeks later, I watched as Dean tripped and skinned his own knee. Then I watched as he cleaned and bandaged his own cut and I decided that he needed someone to treat him like he treated Sam that day."

"You never told me that," Sam interjected softly.

"Thank you for being there for him," Frank said sincerely.

"Dean and Sam are as much my boys as they are John's. Oh, and Sam, you tell Dean..."

"And I'm sleeping on the porch again tonight. I got it," Sam said with a wry grin.

"Why wouldn't you want Dean to know that?" Frank asked curiously.

"Because," Sam said answering for Bobby. "Dean would say he doesn't need anyone to watch out for him. I'm sure you noticed, but he tends to think he can handle everything by himself."

"Can I ask you one more question?" Frank asked Bobby.

"What is it?"

"How did you get involved with all this stuff?"

"My roommate was possessed," Bobby answered. "When I was in college, Will and I became best friends. He was a great guy. Then I started to notice changes in him, just little things at first. He was an athlete and he didn't drink or smoke. Then one night, he came home drunk out of his mind. I really didn't think anything of it at first, but then other stuff started happening. He would snap or yell at me for the stupidest things, he started skipping classes and not bothering with tests or assignments. In short, his whole personality changed. While this stuff was going on, there were a lot of attacks against students on campus. I was walking home from the library late one night and I saw my roommate attacking this girl. I couldn't believe my eyes. I ran over to help her and with one flick of Will's head, I went flying. I was just about to scream for help when out of nowhere, this man came and poured what looked like water on him. Will screamed and started smoking, literally. Then this stranger knocked him out. He saw me and introduced himself to me as Caleb Graham. He said that he had been checking into the attacks and he needed my help.

I was frightened by everything that was happening, but something made me trust this Caleb. He asked me to help him carry Will. We took him to an isolated area and I watched as Caleb laid him in this circle with lots of complicated drawings. He then explained to me that he felt Will was possessed by a demon. Of course, I didn't believe him, but for some reason, I couldn't tear myself away and I watched as Caleb performed an exorcism. After what I had just witnessed, there was no way I could go on denying that these things existed."

"What happened to Will?" Frank asked.

"Sometimes, when a person is possessed, they have no memory of anything they did, others are sort of awake through some or all of it. Will was one who remembered everything. He couldn't accept that he'd had no control and he couldn't live with what he had done, so he went to the police and confessed. He was admitted to the state hospital for psychiatric treatment. I hated to see what happened to such a promising young man who had his whole future ahead of him. I switched my major from business to anthropology and folklore and learned everything I could about demons. I kept in touch with Caleb and met other hunters and trained with them, and I made it my personal mission to get rid of every demon that walked the Earth. I still hunt occasionally and I train others how to deal with demons. It's too big a job for one man," Bobby finished.

"That's when you met John," Frank stated.

"Yup, and the rest is history. Anyway, I better get out to the garage before Johnny comes looking for me. Sam, you stay out of the office but stay close by in case Dean needs anything and Frank, give Dean about ten more minutes and then go see him," Bobby said as he headed out the door.

"Hey, Sam can I ask you one more question?" Frank said as he turned to the younger man.

"I guess," Sam replied.

"Why does your father listen to Bobby, and why can Bobby get away with calling him Johnny?"

"Bobby's a year older than Dad and despite their differences, he loves dad like a younger brother. As to why he calls him Johnny and gets away with it, it's the same reason Dean gets away with calling me Sammy. They do it because they can," was all Sam would say.

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Frank paced outside Bobby's home office for the ten minutes that the hunter had told him to wait. He could hear snatches of the conversation that Dean was having with the receptionist and could hear him laughing about something. He hated the thought of destroying Dean's good mood. He heard Dean say goodbye and the click as the phone was put back in the cradle. It was now or never.

Hunter's instincts caused Dean to look up when he felt someone enter the room. He immediately stiffened when he saw his grandfather walk in.

"Hey, Dean," Frank greeted.

Dean remained silent.

"I know you don't want to talk to me right now and I really don't blame you," Frank said. He wasn't really sure where to start.

"Nothing to talk about," Dean said as he rose from behind the desk.

Frank fought against everything in him that told him to step aside and let Dean go. He didn't want to upset him further, but he knew that if he wanted to repair his relationship with Dean, he had to try. He stepped in front of Dean and took a couple of steps toward his grandson. Dean backed up until he was almost literally in the corner.

"I know how badly I hurt you, Dean. I'm sorry doesn't even begin to cover it."

"I get it gran..., um Frank, you're sorry anyway. Fine, I accept," Dean said coldly.

Frank had to admit that Dean's correction stung, but he knew it was nothing compared to what Dean was feeling.

"Dean," Frank tried again, "I am sorry, but that wasn't what I wanted to say. I wanted to say thank you for..."

"For getting out of your life, no problem. Glad to be able to something right," Dean snapped.

"Dean, please let me finish. No, I wanted to thank you for letting me see you," Frank said sincerely.

"Why did you want to? Did you want to see if the doctors were right about me?" Dean asked bitterly.

"Damn, I'm not explaining this very well," Frank said. He was beginning to lose his confidence. He was making this worse. _Jackson, suck it up, you ran a top finance company, you're__one of the wealthiest people in the country,__Frank thought,__giving himself a pep talk_

"You're explaining it just fine. Look, I get that I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but even I get that I'm not good enough. You and your wife made that perfectly clear," Dean said and Frank could hear the anger in his voice as Dean looked away from him.

"My wife had no right to say that, Dean. She doesn't speak for me. I made that clear after you left that night. I threw her out."

Dean whipped around and Frank realized it was the worst thing he could have said. He could see the defeat enter Dean's eyes and all the fight seemed to leak out of him.

"You did what? No, Grandpa, don't break up your marriage because of me. Please don't. I'm not worth it. God, I'm such..."

Something inside Frank snapped and he interrupted his grandson's tirade.

**"STOP IT,****DEAN,****AND THAT'S AN ORDER!!!" **Frank yelled. The three magic words stopped Dean in his tracks and he stood staring at his grandfather.

Frank looked at the young man standing before him. He realized that he had Dean's full attention and he really needed to make these next couple of minutes count.

"I won't listen to you blame yourself for something you had no control over. You are not a screw up, and you're not stupid. If you want me to take Margaret back, I will, but you are not to blame for me throwing her out and I will not listen to you stand there and berate yourself for a decision I made, and that includes me asking your mother not to name you after me. That was never about you."

"What about Sam?" Dean asked quietly.

"What about him?" Frank asked in confusion.

"I know that you asked mom to name Sam after you. That proves it was me you didn't want," Dean said dejectedly.

"It wasn't about Sam either, Dean. I never really saw you after you were born," Frank admitted.

"Dad said you came to see both of us. One look at me told you everything and you didn't want me, you saw Sam and did."

"I know I don't have the right to ask you for anything, but please, let me ask you this."

"What?" Dean said, irritation clear in his tone.

"Do you think I blame your mother for you being premature?" Frank asked.

"I… I ... what does that have to do with anything?" Dean stammered.

"Do you?" Frank asked again remembering Bobby's tactic.

"What does it matter?"

"Do you think I blame your mother?"

"No," Dean admitted softly.

"Your mom loved being pregnant, Dean. She did everything the doctors told her to. It was just one of those things. Ask yourself this. If I blamed you for not being good enough, shouldn't I be blaming your mother too?"

Dean wasn't sure what to say to that.

"When you were in that incubator, every time your mom looked at you, she saw her beautiful baby boy. She didn't care about the tubes and machines that surrounded you. When I first saw you, I'm ashamed to admit that all I saw were those machines, I never saw the baby boy on the other end. Your mom forgave me after a long time though. When your brother was born, I didn't even think of how it would look to Mary or John, or even you, when I asked her to name Sam after me. It was all me, Dean. I mean, what could you have done at three days old to prove you weren't worthy of the name Jackson?"

"Bobby said the same thing," Dean said as he recalled his and Bobby's earlier conversation.

"Wise man, that Bobby," Frank agreed. "I am grateful you agreed to meet me that day at the diner because I got the chance to see you and now that I have, I'm here to stay. Thank you for letting me see you. I hope that made sense because I swear it did in my head."

"It does, but..." Dean trailed off unable to voice his next thought.

"I understand, Dean, no matter what I say, it still hurts and I would do anything if I could take that away. I'm not asking for your forgiveness. All I'm asking is that you think about what I said."

"I guess that's fair, but I can't promise anything, Frank," Dean admitted honestly.

"I can accept that," Frank agreed. He stepped out of the way so Dean could make his escape. Frank felt hope when Dean didn't leave immediately.

"Hey, Grandpa," Dean started and Frank wasn't sure if he noticed his slip, "Can you do me a favour?"

Frank nodded immediately.

"When Bobby and Dad get back, do you think you could take Bobby for a ride in your Ferrari. I know he'd like it," Dean asked, glad he could think of a way to repay some of Bobby's kindness.

"Sure, I owe him," Frank agreed.

"We all do," Dean stated.

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Bobby and John did show up a short time later. John noticed that Dean and Frank still didn't have that easy connection that they'd had when they first met, but the tension in the air seemed reduced and Bobby was happy that when he made lunch, Dean seemed to have gotten his appetite back, eating everything on his plate, and he even heard a few grandpas slip from Dean's mouth. After the dishes were taken care of, Frank offered to take Bobby for a drive and Bobby accepted eagerly.

Dean wandered into the living room to watch TV. He soon gave in to the exhaustion he felt and drifted off to sleep.

"Sam, how did it go?" John asked his youngest once Dean was sleeping deeply.

"I think it went as well as you could expect. I mean, Dean seemed so much more relaxed. I don't think it will be too long before Dean forgives Frank completely," Sam admitted.

"Your brother never could stay mad at anyone for very long and I hope that includes me," John said.

"Dad, he worships the ground you walk on. He may be mad for awhile, but you know he'll forgive you, even if you don't talk to him, but I suggest you do, don't let him bury this," advised Sam.

"I will, but right now, I think it's more important to let him sleep," John said as he glanced at his eldest son.

"I agree and right now, I think I'm going to catch a nap myself. I didn't sleep much myself last night," Sam said as he left John alone.

As John watched Dean sleep, he was reminded of the first time he was ever alone with his son.

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_Dean had been released from__the hospital and he and Mary had brought him home. Both mother and father were excited and nervous. They checked on him constantly to make sure he was okay. They were instructed to keep Dean indoors as much as possible and to limit his contact with other people because his immune system wasn't as strong as other newborns._

_The next day,__Mary had had a check up and John had stayed home to look after Dean. Being in combat hadn't scared him this badly. What if Dean got sick? What if he needed something John couldn't__provide?__ He told Mary that and she had just smiled and kissed him and told him that__he and Dean would be just fine._

_Mary wasn't gone 10 minutes when Dean had woken from his nap. Upon hearing his cries,__John rushed to his son's room. He couldn't get over how small his son was and John was afraid of picking him up for fear of hurting him. Mary had always been the one to pick him up__and put him in his father's arms. Now,__he had no choice. _

_Dean stopped crying almost as soon as his father gathered him in into__his arms and John felt his heart swell with pride. He changed Dean's dirty diaper__and then took him into the kitchen and warmed his bottle before taking__him back to the nursery to feed him. John fell in love with his son all over again that day. _

_They spent the whole afternoon in the rocking chair beside Dean's crib. John told Dean all about his childhood, his parents, his time in Vietnam, how he'd__met Mary, his hopes and dreams for the future and he promised he would never let go._

John came back to the present and with another glance toward Dean, he realized that he'd broken his promise. He had let go.

He vowed to himself that he would fix that when Dean awoke.

Hoped you liked this chapter. Read and review and let me know your thoughts.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

A/N: Thank you to Soar once again for the awesome beta work. Any left over mistakes are completely mine.

John sat in the chair that had just been vacated by his youngest. He glanced toward his sleeping son and a look of tenderness replaced the concerned look he had been sporting. Dean always looked so relaxed when he slept. He reminded John of that newborn that he had fallen in love with so long ago. John sighed heavily, where had he gone so wrong? On one hand, he wanted his boy to wake up because they really needed to talk, but on the other, he had no idea what to say. Dean was so quick to follow orders, so reliable and dependable. If some thing came up, John knew all he had to do was issue three little words, or remind Dean of his responsibilites, and Dean would back off. Sam argued with him about everything, so when Dean approached him with something John didn't want to deal with, he could end it with one well placed line and he knew that never once had he hesistated to do so.

John heard the commercials finish playing and turned to watch TV while he waited. He grinned when he realized that he was watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Dean had always had a bit of a man crush on Jack Nicholson. He remembered that Dean had actually read the book after he saw the movie, it had been the same after he saw The Shining. It was one of the few times that Dean had ever ventured out and read something on his own without John or some teacher making him.

John knew, like in the past, he could clear things up with Dean just by using his old stategy but he needed to have a long talk with his boy. There were three times in particular that John had used this game plan and all three times Dean had ended up getting hurt. John found himself remembering the first one.

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January 1994

John had been sitting at his desk going over the notes for his next hunt. He suspected a werewolf was at large in the area and he was going over locations of where the victims had been found, trying to find a pattern so he could stake out the area. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the spots the victims were found in and John found himself wishing that Dean was there. His son had an uncanny knack for spotting patterns where there didn't appear to be any.

_Ring, Ring._

John, who had been hunched over, strengthed the kinks out of his back and pushed his book aside and reached for the phone.

"Hello," he greeted the person on the other end.

_"Hello, is this John Winchester?" asked a female voice._

"Who's calling?" John asked. He couldn't be too careful.

_"My name is Holly King. I'm a teacher over at Wilson High School_."

"This is John," he said.

John knew his son was smart, very smart, but Dean had always struggled in school. Most teachers took one look at Dean and labelled him a trouble maker. They all had the same attitude, that Dean was smart, but he was lazy and didn't apply himself. John was ashamed to admit that he had the same attitude as well. Dean's grades, while never great, had always been just enough so that he could pass, with the exception of his last year of junior high school. The teacher there had told John that without summer school, Dean was going to have to repeat the whole year. Dean's reaction to that was not pretty, but John felt that it would have been far worse for Dean to have to repeat an entire grade. It didn't seem to have helped though, because when Dean started high school, his grades went from bad to worse. John had been called in to see Dean's guidance counsellor and there was even talk of putting him back down to the eighth grade. John had nipped that in the bud and promised Dean would buckle down. He then forbade Dean from hunting until his grades improved.

_"Mr. Winchester, I was wondering if you could come by this afternoon,__or tomorrow. There's something I would like to discuss with you," Holly requested. _

"I can come by tomorrow. What time?" John asked.

_"I have a break between classes around so around two would be fine,__if that's__okay with you," Holly said._

"I'll be there," John promised and hung up.

_Great, just great, John thought as he rubbed his brow in frustration. He had so much work to do, to prepare for this hunt, and this was the last thing he needed. What was it going to take to get through to that kid? John swore to himself that when Dean got home that night there would be a long talk. Well, he would do all the talking and Dean would do all the listening. He was reaching__his wits end with his eldest and his school work. Even not being allowed to hunt didn't seem to be working. It was even getting to the point where John was considering sending Dean to Pastor Jim's for the school year. Maybe if Dean had no distractions__he would learn to settle down._

Time did little to cool of John's temper and it had practically reached a boiling point by the time Dean got home from school that afternoon. Time was valuable when on a hunt and he didn't need to be wasting it with yet another meeting with one of Dean's teachers.

When Dean came home from school that afternoon, he was, for once, in a great mood. Math had always been his strongest subject and he was clutching his latest test in his hand. The teacher hadn't given him any stupid word problems, it was all straight equations. Dean had scored a perfect 100. He couldn't wait to show his dad. After all kinds of failed tests and teachers notes, Dean was proud and he hoped that this would please his dad and that he would let Dean go on the next hunt. His joy, however, was short lived.

"Hey, dad, guess what?" Dean said excitedly as he stepped into the room and addressed his dad. One look at his dad and his good mood deflated instantly, like a balloon pricked with a sharp object. The expression on his dad's face told him he had screwed up again. He just didn't know when or how.

"Want to explain to me why your teacher wants to see me, Jonathan Dean," John said flatly.

_Uh oh, thought Dean, full name. _"I… I'm not sure. Which one was it?" Dean stammered. He knew it couldn't be his math teacher.

"Does it matter?" John snapped.

"Maybe my ma..."

"It was Ms. King," John interrupted. "Are you skipping class or assignments again, Dean, because I swear, if I find that you have" John said leaving the sentence hanging.

"No Sir, I swear," Dean protested.

"I am getting fed up with this, Jonathan Dean. It seems everytime I turn around lately, someone from the school needs to talk to me. I've tried everything I can think of, grounding, no TV, even no hunting, but it seems nothing works. I don't ask for straight A's, I just want you to pass and right now, unless something drastic happens, you're going to fail the whole year. You were lucky last year that summer school saved you. Tell me, Dean, what do I need to do, should I let them put you back down a grade?" John ground out.

"I don't know," Dean said meekly.

"I know that you don't think school is important to a hunter, but think, Dean. You need to know how to properly research a case, or you run an even greater risk of getting hurt. You need math skills to figure out coordinates, or how long it will take you to get to certain spot."

Dean figured this would be a good time to show John the test he had in his hand. "Guess what, dad, I go..." Dean started, but his dad wasn't done.

"Here's what going to happen. You're not to leave this house except for school or training. No dates, TV, or hunting until your grades improve. You are to spend every spare minute on your school work. If this doesn't work, I will consider something more drastic. You can consider this on order."

"Yes Sir," Dean said quietly, his entire demeanor radiating defeat. He had been putting everything he had into his work. Maybe he was stupid like some of the other kids said. He glanced toward the paper in his hand and then back to his father. He decided then and there not to say a word. His dad would probably just think he had cheated anyway. He slumped out of the living room, dropping his test in the garbage pail on the way out.

Later that evening, when the boys were in bed, John called his old friend and confidante, Jim Murphy.

"_Hello," Jim greeted the caller._

"Hey, Jim, it's John."

_"What's up? How're the boys?" Jim asked._

"They're fine," John sighed.

_"Something wrong?" Jim asked as he read John's tone._

"I got another call from Dean's teacher. She wants to see me."

_"Did his teacher say what the meeting was about?" Jim inquired._

"No, but it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. Dean's grades are getting worse. I don't know what to do with the boy anymore. He just won't listen. I was thinking about sending him to stay with you for the school year, so that he would have a stable environment. Maybe that would get his attention," John said bleakly.

Jim was quiet for so long that John began to wonder if they had lost the connection. He was just about to say hello again when Jim spoke.

_"John, Dean would be welcome here anytime, Sam as well, but I don't think that's the answer. Think hard about that decision,__it could do more harm than good," Jim advised._

"Then tell me what to do, Jim, because I'm fresh out of ideas," John said in an exasperated tone.

_"See what Dean's teacher has to say, then give me a call tomorrow and__I'm sure that we can come up with something."_

"Thanks, Jim," John replied.

_"No problem. Say hi to the boys for me," Pastor Jim said as he ended the call._

John drove to the school the following, still stewing over what it might be that the teacher wanted to see him about and wondering what exactly Dean had done, or not done, this time. He had a habit of skipping assignments. Upon arriving at the school, he found Holly King's empty classroom quickly and knocked on the door. Holly looked up as John entered the room.

"Ms. King, I'm John Winchester, Dean's father," John greeted.

"Yes, Mr. Winchester. Thank you for coming. Please, have a seat," Holly said.

"What did Dean do now?" John sighed, as he took the invited seat. "Maybe I can guess. He failed his last test or didn't do the lastest assignment?"

"Well, yes and no," Holly said and went on quickly when she saw John's confusion. "Let me explain. First, I want to say that Dean's a great kid and I think he's very intelligent, but..."

"He doesn't apply himself," John interrupted. He had heard this before.

"Actually, that wasn't what I was going to say," Holly finished.

Surprise flashed across John's face. So far, this meeting wasn't going as he had expected.

"What I was going to say is that Dean is very intelligent, but something seems to be hindering him and I think I know what it is. Have you ever had your son tested for a learning disability, specifically dyslexia?" Holly asked.

"No," John admitted. "Why would you ask that?"

"There are things that I've noticed, different patterns to the mistakes that he's making. I tutor kids with learning disabilities and it seems that Dean has all the signs. Like I said, he's very smart. If I ask him a question in class, he usually gives the right answer, but then, when we have a test or a written assignment, he seems to struggle. He doesn't seem to finish the tests. I checked with his other teachers and the same thing seems to be happening in his other classes."

"What I don't understand is how would he have gotten this far then?" asked John.

"Most people with learning disabilities have different things that they use to cope, or things they can do to compensate. Now that Dean's in high school, there is more work, shorter time periods to get things done, and those strategies that he used stop working as effectively," Holly explained.

"So, what exactly is dyslexia? Isn't that where you see letters backwards?"

"That's more of a myth. Some kids do have trouble recognizing letters, but that's extremely rare. With dyslexia, there is a problem with word recognition, kids with dyslexia don't recognize words and tend to have to sound out the words when they are reading. When they read, it sounds hesitant and it's usually slow and faltering."

"That sounds like Dean," John admitted. "I know you said that Dean developed coping methods, but I still don't understand why this wouldn't have been discovered earlier."

"I understand from Dean's records that you move around a lot," Holly started to explain and John felt himself grow defensive. His body stiffened and the tension could clearly be seen in his face. Holly didn't miss it. "Now, I understand that sometimes it's unavoidable. My dad was in the navy so we moved quite a bit. I'm just saying that it could explain why, sometimes, kids fall through the cracks and, Mr. Winchester, please don't take offense to what I'm about to say next," Holly said tentatively.

"What is it?"

"Well, a lot of times, what happens is that the student begins to think of themselves as dumb or stupid and they stop trying. It has to be frustrating for someone to try and try and get so few results, so in a sense, they resign themselves to the fact that they can't do it and for the most part, give up. I don't think Dean has given up yet, but I would have to say that he's close to wanting to."

"No offense taken, Ms. King. I understand what you're saying. So what happens now?"

"Well, I've spoken to Dean's guidance counsellor and he's agreed to have Dean tested. Basically, we'll give Dean a Cognitive Aptitude Assessment. It's designed to test the speed and accuracy at which a student reads, and also test for letter recognition, word recognition and non-word recognition."

"Non-word recognition, why would you test for that?" John asked wanting further clarification.

"It gives us a picture of how well the student can string together letter sounds to pronounce words. For example, what does this word say?" Holly asked as she scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to John.

He looked at the word. "Plonk?" he asked.

"Yup. Even though the word makes no sense to you, you know instantly what the word says because you recognize the letters and the sounds they make."

"So if Dean looks at this word, he wouldn't be able to recognize it. He'd have to sound it out," John said as comprehension started to sink in.

"Most likely. He would have to study it and sound it out carefully in order to read it," Ms. King explained.

"So this is why you think he's not getting his work done. Can I ask you something else?"

"Of course."

"Dean did have a hard time learning to read. What about if he was learning another language?" John asked as he thought back to the times that he and Bobby had tried to teach Dean Latin.

If Holly thought that the question was odd, she didn't show it. "Same things would occur."

"What about his math skills? That seems to be an area where Dean excels. Wouldn't they be affected?" John asked.

"Not necessarily. Number recognition and word recognition are two entirely different things. I know it's a lot to take in, so I brought these with me," Holly said as she handed John a stack of pamphlets and brochures. "These explain more about what dyslexia is and the testing process. Please take a moment to read them. I'd like to start the testing process for Dean this Friday, after school. Is that okay for you?"

"I guess," John said as he prepared to leave.

"One more thing, Mr. Winchester. Dean's going to need a lot of support. I mean, we'll be asking him to perform many simple tasks that he may have trouble with, and it's very easy to get discouraged when that happens. He's going to need lots of encouragement," Holly said.

"I'll do my best. Thank you, Ms. King. It means a lot to me that you took the time to care that there may be more going on with Dean," John said sincerely. He was starting to regret his earlier thoughts.

"No problem, Mr. Winchester. Like I said, Dean's a great kid. As much as he pretends he doesn't care that he got a bad grade, you can tell it clearly upsets him," Holly added.

"That's Dean for you."

"I'll be in touch. I put my cell phone number on the back of one of those pamphlets. Please call me if you have any questions," Holly offered.

John went home that afternoon and gathered his hunt papers. He was fully intending to catch up on what he had missed during the meeting with Ms. King. He went to throw out some unrelated stuff when he saw a paper in the trash with Dean's name on it, and then he saw the gleaming 100 at the top. He felt a sudden tightening in his stomach that left him feeling so bad about the things he had said to his boy the day before. Dean really had been trying John pushed aside his hunt papers for once and he spent the entire afternoon reading everything that Ms. King had given him, and the more he read the worse he felt about the things he had said to his son the previous day. When Dean got home later that afternoon, he called his son into the kitchen and went over everything Ms. King had covered that afternoon. He even tried the test that Ms King had given him, with the nonsense word. He realized exactly what Dean's teacher had been saying when it took Dean a minute to sound out the word.

Over the next couple of weeks, Dean met with various teachers and was given a series of reading tests. Holly King's predictions proved correct. Dean seemed to get frustrated over the smallest things and was ill-tempered. He snapped at John, and even Sam, whenever one of them would mention school or homework.

To make matters worse, John's hunt had taken a turn for the worse and his friend Jefferson had been injured badly by the werewolf. Fortunately, he hadn't been bitten, but John wasn't around much during the weeks Dean was being tested and with Dean in such a bad mood, John had no patience for his eldest, and he failed to give Dean the support the teacher had recommended.

The diagnosis of dyslexia was confirmed and a tutoring program was set up. Dean was not happy, to say the least, when he found out that he was required to stay after school for extra tutoring three times a week, to help him with his reading skills.

He asked his father to get him out of it, but John just replied that it was necessary and that he was to go, and that it was on order.

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John came back to the present when the heard a noise. He realized that he had knocked a book off the end of the chair. He cursed himself when he thought of the way he had handled Dean's dyslexia. No wonder Dean had questioned his intelligence. Dean's grades had improved, but John realized that he had never commented on it.

_Christ,__Johnny, he said to himself. Dean probably thought that you didn't notice or even care. Thank God he never knew I was thinking about sending him away._

John went to pick the book up off the floor and found himself remembering the second thing he wished he could have done over.

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April 1994

John had taken care of the werewolf he was hunting, but he and the boys had stayed in town awhile longer, so that Dean could have some stability in his schooling. A few months later though, he caught wind of a black dog and he just couldn't let anyone else die, so he packed up the boys and moved.

Dean was happy to move. He hated staying three days a week after school to work with a tutor. However, he was not impressed when the first thing that John did was set up a tutoring program at the new school as well. He was really starting to believe that his father didn't think he was capable.

One day, Dean had come home from school in a funk and John had tried to find out what was wrong, but Dean refused to talk about it. John didn't push and instead returned to his research. John hadn't wanted Dean missing school, so he had asked Bobby to help him out with the hunt instead. John just assumed that this was why Dean was in such a foul mood. He was wrong.

Later that night, after Sam was in bed, Dean came into the kitchen. John could tell that by Dean's restless demeanor that he wanted to ask his father something.

"Hey, Dean, what's up?"

"Dad, can I talk to you about something?" Dean asked seriously.

"What's on you mind, kiddo?" John asked curiously.

"Can I come with you and Bobby on the hunt tomorrow?"

"I wish you could, but I don't want you to miss any more school," John explained.

"I won't miss anything important. Besides, it's not like I can learn about black dogs in English class," Dean protested.

"That right there tells me that there's something in English class you want to avoid. You got a test you didn't study for, or an assignment you didn't do? All I can say is that there better not be, because we talked about this," John countered.

"I just want to go on the hunt with you and Bobby. Three sets of hands are better than two. That's what you tell Sammy when he doesn't want to go on a hunt."

"You're just avoiding what I asked you and that just gives me more evidence. What do you want to avoid in English class?" John asked again. He had remembered Bobby using this trick on Dean when he didn't want to answer something and it usually worked.

"It's a stupid, boring waste of time. I haven't gotten to hunt a black dog yet. I need all the experience I can get, 'cause I want to be a hunter like you. Shakespeare isn't going to help with that," Dean said.

John realized that he been given another clue as to what was up. "I don't know about that, son. Shakespeare was big into this stuff. I mean, there was the ghost of Hamlet's father that came to him to let his son know that he was murdered, and asked him to avenge his death. Then there was the soothsayer witches in Macbeth, who predicted that he'd become king. Maybe the old Bard was a hunter himself. So I'm guessing that what you want to avoid has to do with Shakespeare."

"It's not like reading Othello out loud is going to help me learn how to track," Dean tried again, giving his father the final clue.

"No, but we can go camping some weekend and I'll show you," John offered. "What part are you supposed to read tomorrow?"

"Iago," Dean said as he admitted defeat. How did his dad do that? "We're doing Shakespeare this term and the teacher gave us each a part. We're going to read each scene and discuss it. It's stupid. I would rather go hunting," Dean muttered sullenly.

John felt his heart going out to his eldest. Dean had made a significant amount of progress in the last few months, but he was still a slow reader and really hated reading out loud because of this. He knew that it upset Dean when the kids made fun of him if he stumbled over words.

"Do you know what section you're reading tomorrow?" John asked.

Dean nodded miserably.

"Let's go over it now, okay. We'll read it together until you're comfortable with it," John suggested.

"Don't you have to prepare for the hunt tomorrow?" Dean asked in surprise.

"Nothing that can't wait," John said.

Dean got his book and together father and son read into the night. They went over it so many times that Dean almost memorized it. John was proud of his son as he watched him gain confidence in what he doing, and John knew that Dean would do a good job the next day.

John even called Bobby and asked if he could take over the hunt for the next few days. Bobby was more than willing as he knew that working with his father was just want Dean needed, and Bobby would do anything for Dean. Every evening, John and Dean read together until Dean was comfortable with his assigned part.

Dean had to admit that he enjoyed the time he and his father spent together and he didn't even mind that it was over homework. John had even displayed a rare display of patience with his eldest. Although Dean had hoped that he could get out of a big part when they studied the next play, luck was not on his side and the teacher assigned him the role of Romeo to read.

"Dad, you busy?" Dean asked his father when he got home from school the next day.

"I have to go help Bobby. Looks like this black dog has a mate and pups. He needs help. You know the drill, Dean, and watch out for Sammy," John said as he packed his bag and prepared to leave.

"How long will you be gone?" Dean asked.

"A few days," John said. He finally looked at Dean. "What's up?"

Dean fidgeted nervously. He knew that this was nowhere near a good time to tell his dad what he wanted, but if he didn't, he wouldn't have the chance to later. He shrugged and held up the play book. "We're starting Romeo and Juliet. I got stuck as Romeo. I was wondering if you could read with me again. It really helped the last time."

"Sorry, kiddo, I have to go," John said.

"I could really use your help, dad," Dean admitted.

"I can't, Dean. I have to go help Bobby. He could get killed on his own and I know that you wouldn't want that. Get Sam to go over it with you," John suggested unthinkingly.

"No, ah, you're right. You have to help. Be careful, Dad," Dean said quietly as he left the room without another word.

"I will," John replied, not noticing that his son's tone had changed completely.

That night, Sam had asked Dean if he could go to a friend's house. Dean could never say no to his brother, so he told him to go ahead. That night, he tried to practice on his own, but he had to pick Sam up at his friend's house and then Sam had asked for Dean to help him with his math. Then, Dean completed the household chores that were his responsibility when John was out of town. Dean didn't have the time he needed to get completely comfortable with his part. He tried his best in class the next day and was embarrassed when he stumbled and several kids had made fun of him. Rather than face that humiliation again, Dean skipped English for the remainder of the time John was gone. Upon arriving home from his hunt, the school called John and informed him about Dean's absences. John was not pleased with his eldest and he lost his temper with Dean, but when he finally got Dean to admit why he had skipped, John felt terrible.

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"John, hey, Johnny, you with us?" asked Bobby.

John took a moment to get his bearings.

"Sorry, Bobby. I was just thinking," he said answering his friend.

"Don't do too much of that, you might hurt yourself," Bobby, joked but it failed to raise the hoped for laugh.

John looked back towards the now empty couch.

"Where's Dean?" He asked as he jumped up, afraid that his son had taken off again.

"Relax, I sent him and Sam for pizza. I don't feel like cooking and I'm not up to eating anything you make, besides, it's something Dean can eat one handed," Bobby said.

"Where's Frank?" John inquired.

"He's in the other room looking at my books," Bobby replied.

"How'd it go with you and Frank?"

"Alright. That is one sweet ride," Bobby admitted. "We talked some more about what you told him. He's still having a hard time with it all, but he did manage to convince me that he's here to stay."

"That's good."

"What were you thinking about just now?" Bobby asked. "You seemed a million miles away."

John admitted to Bobby what he'd been remembering. He left out the part where he was thinking about sending Dean away. That would forever remain a secret between him and Pastor Jim.

"John, sometimes I wonder just how dense you can be. When does Dean ask for help? Shouldn't the fact the he was asking have told you just how much he needed it?" Bobby said.

"I know, Bobby. I messed up big time. I shouldn't have dismissed him like that," John admitted.

"What were you thinking telling Dean I could be killed? You said that because you knew it would get him to back off," Bobby said shaking his head in disbelief.

"There's nothing you can say to me that I haven't said to myself when I got back from that hunt and found out what happened."

"I'm sure I can think of a few things, but we really don't need to be doing this right now. Dean needs all of us getting along," Bobby said.

"I want to make this right, Bobby," John said as his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I know. You can corner him after supper and, John, make sure he talks. You know as soon as you say I'm sorry he's going to forgive you. Don't let him," Bobby said, echoing Sam's words from earlier.

"I won't. I just wish I knew what to say. I don't want to make things worse," John admitted.

"I can't tell you that. Just say what you feel," Bobby advised. "I know that you and Dean are close, but the two of you have had other confrontations. What did you do then?"

"I don't think bribing him is going to work this time, Bobby," John said with a wry grin.

"What are you talking about, Johnny?'

"The last time I had a confrontation with Dean was when he was 16. He wanted to drop out of school."

"I'm guessing you did something you shouldn't have then, too?" Bobby asked.

John looked sheepish. "Yeah, and instead apologizing for what I said, I told him he could have the Impala if he graduated," John revealed and he once again found himself in the past.

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January 1995.

Dean had just turned 16. The Winchesters didn't do too much to celebrate birthdays, but John made sure he was home and usually took the boys to dinner and gave them a present. With funds being tight as they were, it was usually something the boys needed rather than wanted. Dean had needed a new jacket, so that's what John had gotten him. This year, however, he managed to combine one of Dean's wants and needs and he wished he'd had a camera to capture the look on his son's face when he opened the box and pulled out the leather jacket.

John knew that his son had wanted one. An acquaintance of John's had asked him to do a job that John didn't particularly want to do, but the man had offered to pay him and he needed the money, so he took the job. He had come across the jacket at a second hand shop. It was old and battered, and a little too big for Dean, but his son didn't care. He'd loved it from the moment he saw it.

All three Winchester's had come home in a great mood for once. Sam and John had made an extra effort to get along for the sake of Dean's birthday and this had pleased Dean even more than the jacket. So while his dad was in a good mood, Dean had decided this was the best time to approach his dad with his request.

John was in the den watching TV when he heard his son enter.

"Hey, Dean, have a good birthday?" John asked.

"It was great. Thanks for the jacket," Dean said sincerely.

"Glad you liked it," John replied. He could tell something was up with his eldest though. Dean was restless and looking anywhere but at his father and this was a red flag to John that something was on Dean's mind.

"Dad, I'm 16 now," Dean pointed out.

"I know." John was wondering if Dean was maybe hinting for his father to give him the Impala.

"Well, I was thinking. I know that you could use a lot of help with this upcoming hunt. I know this demon is a nasty one."

"Yeah, I'm counting on you and Sammy, I need you to look after your brother. Jefferson and I are going to do some preliminary scouting this week. If all goes well, then I'll need you and Sammy with me to help with the exorcism."

"I could help out his week too," Dean offered.

"You have school, son," John explained.

"I don't have to go."

"Yes, you do."

"Not legally," Dean said and John knew what Dean had been hinting at earlier.

"You're not dropping out, Dean," John stated firmly.

"I could be of so much more use to you if I weren't going to school. I would have more time for Sammy, I could help him with his homework and I could do more research for you," Dean pointed out.

"You hate research," John reminded his son.

"Just think of all the stuff I could learn quicker if I could do it full time, and it's not like school's going to help with that."

"Maybe not, but you're still going."

"I'm no good at it..."

"Stop it!" John stated. "I won't listen to you put yourself down. Did you see your last report card, three A's, Dean, and four B's. You've come so far this past year. I know that you've been working hard and it's paying off."

"Just think how much better I could be if I could work at being a good hunter."

"Dean!" John said in a tone that should have indicated to Dean that he was starting to push it.

"But, Dad..."

Right here, John knew he should have taken the time to sit down and really discuss what his son was feeling, but as usual, he took the easy way out. He knew just how to end this. "Don't 'but dad' me, Jonathan Dean Winchester Jr. You're going to school until you graduate. No Winchester had ever dropped out and you're not going to be the first. Besides, what would your mother say? You know how much she valued education. She'd be so disappointed in you if dropped out, Dean."

With that, all the fight left Dean and he dropped his gaze to ground. For a second, John thought he saw tears glisten in his son's eyes and he wondered if he might have gone too far.

"Sorry, dad, I... ah, I guess I better go start my homework," Dean said as he exited the room shoulders slumped wearily.

"Dean, wait," John said.

Dean stopped and turned toward his father. "What?" he asked dejectedly.

"I'll make you a deal," John offered. "You graduate and the Impala will be your graduation present."

Dean did give John a genuine smile then. He'd always wanted that car. "Sure, dad, thanks. I'll leave you be." With that, he left the room and he never mentioned dropping out again.

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Bobby was seriously considering going back on his word about getting along with John for Dean's sake after the story that John had just told him.

"You know what, Johnny? I think the porch is too good for you, I think that Rumsfeld's old dog house might be a better place."

They suddenly heard Sam and Dean entering the house, which meant that John was spared the lecture for now. They had dinner and John noted that Dean seemed a little more animated, and he even seemed to be softening toward his grandfather a little more, as he addressed him as grandpa almost as much as he addressed him as Frank.

"Frank, your turn to help with the dishes," Bobby said.

"No problem," Frank replied.

"Want some help, Grandpa?" Sam offered.

Everyone at the table was surprised at how Sam had just addressed his grandfather, including Sam himself. He hadn't meant to say it. It had just slipped out.

Frank wisely ignored it and took Sam up on his offer.

After dinner, Dean excused himself to go take a shower. Bobby wandered into his office to catch up on some paper work, but John waited for Dean to finish in the shower and then caught him on the way to his room.

It was now or never and John vowed to himself that this time he wasn't going to screw up.

A/N: Okay this chapter so didn't work out like I planned. I know that you were looking forward to the John/Dean confrontation and I had fully intended to write it, but I think the spirit of John Winchester possessed my computer and he wanted to share some more memories with you, even if they weren't necessarily happy ones. Okay, truth was, I re-watched Everybody Loves a Clown this morning and was in a mood for some angst. I hoped you liked this chapter anyway. Please read and review and let me know what you thought. I promise the next chapter will have John and Dean's talk. Chapter 18 is at the beta readers now, so hopefully it won't be to long before its posted. Please let me know what you though of this chapter. I love reviews.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

Thanks for Soar the the beta, any left over mistakes are completely my own,

Dean finished his shower and headed towards his room. He entered and grabbed his duffel, getting a change of clothes. He dressed and was debating what to do with himself when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up and saw his father standing there.

"Hey, Dean, you busy?" John inquired.

"Not really," Dean answered as he rubbed his sore shoulder. He glanced at his father and instantly felt his defenses rise. He knew that his father had something on his mind.

"You, okay?"

"Fine," Dean answered, irritation starting to leak into his voice.

"You better put this back on," John said as he handed his son the discarded sling.

"Is that an order?" Dean snapped as he reached out and grabbed the sling from his father's hand and gave it a fierce glare. John knew that if looks could kill, the sling would have caught fire and John frowned. So far, this wasn't starting off well.

"No, more like a friendly request. Besides, do you want Bobby to see you without it?"

Dean thought for a moment before answering. Bobby had always insisted that he take care of himself and that meant following doctors orders. "No," he replied as he put the hated contraption back on with a long suffering sigh.

"Can I go now?" Dean asked his father. John was standing in the doorway though because he knew that he had to prevent Dean's escape if this had any chance of working.

"No, I want to talk to you," John replied as he took a deep breath, his body seeming to expand to fill the doorway completely. He knew there was no point in beating around the bush. They both knew why they were there.

"About what?" Dean asked as he went still and quiet, as if he was gearing up for the conversation, but John knew the truth. Dean's breathing increased and his eyes widened as he began to search frantically for any alternate escape route. Finding none, he squared his shoulders and waited for his father to speak.

"First, I want to say I'm sorry," John said cautiously.

"About what?" Dean asked.

"About Frank. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the whole truth. You were getting along so well with your grandfather that I didn't want to see it end. I didn't what you to get hurt."

"Great strategy there, dad," Dean said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and flashed his father a thumbs up sign.

"I understand you're upset, but..."

"Dad, don't worry about it okay. Let's just move on. I'm sorry I took off," Dean said hoping that would placate his father. He didn't want to do this.

"No, son, it's not okay. We need to talk about this. I understand there's not a lot more I can say about not telling you the truth about your name that wasn't covered by Bobby, Sam or Frank. Just let me say once again, I'm sorry. I know it doesn't mean much, but I hope you know that I mean it," John said sincerely.

"Why didn't you just tell me the truth? Like I told Sam, I'm not going to break. Sure, it would have hurt, but how do you think it felt having it thrown at me like that, coming from my own grandmother. Then, to find out you and Sam knew the whole time. You all lied to me, you, Sam, Frank, even mom. You said family doesn't keep things from each other. I..." Dean's rant stopped abruptly, as if he had said too much.

John took a step back as Dean's good arm gestured wildly as he was making his point. As daunting as it was, this was the reaction that he had wanted, Dean needed to get this out, although he hadn't expected it to come this quickly.

"You're right, I should have told you. I hope you can forgive me?" John asked.

"Sure. Are we done now?" Dean asked.

"Not even close. We're just getting started," John said firmly and he took a decisive step forward.

Dean looked like he was about to protest, so John quickly closed the gap between him and his son. He put his arm on Dean's shoulders, like he had seen Bobby do on numerous occasions, and John tried not to show how hurt he felt when Dean flinched.

"Let's sit, son, there's something I want to say." John and Dean took a seat on the edge of one of the beds. Knowing that Dean would never sit of his own free will, John exerted some gentle pressure. He left his hand over Dean's shoulders, not only because he wanted to maintain contact with his son, but now that he was no longer in front of the door, he didn't want Dean escaping. John took a deep breath and began. He found himself praying he was doing the right thing.

"Your grandfather, not Frank, my father, was a good man. He loved my mom, much like I Ioved Mary. My mom died just before our wedding and ever since then, my father's health began to go down hill. He eventually died of a heart attack, just after you were born, but I think it was of a broken heart. He held on for as long as he did because he wanted to meet his grandson. He told me that there was no greater joy than a parent meeting their child for the first time. As soon as you were born, they took you away from us, before we could even catch a glimpse of you. No one would tell us anything, we didn't know if you were alive or dead. Then finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they came and got us. I took one look at you and understood exactly what my dad had been talking about. You weren't much bigger than my hand, but to me, you were perfect."

"No so perfect, obviously," Dean mumbled under his breath. It was so low that John almost missed it.

"Pure perfection, Dean," John said in a tone that left no room for argument. "Your grandfather, Frank, he never saw you, just the machines that were keeping you alive," John explained.

"You two rehearse this or something?" Dean accused, a hint of anger coloring his voice. "That's what he said."

John cursed himself. He really hoped that he hadn't undone any of the damage control that Frank had accomplished. "No, Dean, that's just what he told me after we started to patch things up. Your mom was a lot like you. She didn't like to stay mad at family," John explained. "It was over two months before we could bring you home. I still remember the first time that I was alone with you. It was the second day you were home and your mom had to go for a check up. That's my favourite memory of you. I made a promise then that I was never going to let you go."

"Why are you saying this stuff?" Dean asked, his tone making him sound like a confused little boy rather than the lethal hunter he was.

"You need to hear it and I'm concerned about you," John said gently.

"You don't have to be, I'm always okay," Dean responded with a glance toward the wide open door.

"You're not okay. Not by a long shot," John instantly refuted.

"Like you would know," Dean mumbled.

"Why would you say that, Dean? Why would you think that I wouldn't notice or care that you were gone?" John repeated with a frown and he could feel the tension grow in Dean's body. John knew that an explosion was not far away. He was going against every instinct that John had as a father not to upset your kids. _Too little, too late, he thought to himself._

"Nothing, forget I said anything, it must have been the concussion. I didn't mean it," Dean tried, but John was not about to let him off the hook.

"You said it, Dean, so you obviously meant it. Now tell me why you would think that," John ordered, not willing to let this go.

"I said I didn't mean it," Dean restated. He threw up his good arm in a gesture of frustration.

"Dean!" John warned. He could tell that Dean was getting frantic and John knew he was about 30 seconds away from throwing off John's hold on him and making a break for the door. In a preventative measure, John released his hold on his son. Dean shot to his feet, but John's quick reflexes allowed him to block the door first.

Sighing in frustration, Dean walked to the other of the room and turned his back on his father. He was seriously contemplating just charging his father in order to get out.

"Dean, why do you think I don't care?"

"Okay, you do alright," Dean ground out just wanting this to be over.

"Nice try, now why do you think I don't care?" John persisted.

Dean whipped around to face his father. Anger was pouring from every ounce of Dean's body and John braced himself for Dean's explosion. Dean, however, was never one to be predictable and he did the last thing that John expected. The tension never left him, but he looked his dad square in the eye and said quietly, "Watch out for Dean."

John's confusion showed in his face. He was about to prompt Dean to continue when Dean did it on his own.

"Whenever you went away on a hunt, you left instructions. Lock the doors and the windows, and close the shades. Don't leave the room and don't answer the phone, if it was you, you would ring once and call back. Most importantly though, watch out for Sammy," Dean quoted. He paused, as if to gather his thoughts, and then continued. "Whenever we stayed with Bobby, or Pastor Jim, it was the same thing. Never once did you leave instructions to watch out for Dean, or if we were by ourselves, you never said to take care of yourself," Dean said and his heartbroken voice pierced John's heart.

"Dean," John began.

"I know, you're sorry, right," Dean said in a forced tone.

"I was going to say that I did leave that instruction, you were just never around to hear it, and if you don't believe me, you can ask Bobby," John defended himself. "You were always so capable, Dean. After the fire, I lost it, but you didn't. You took care of me and Sammy and you were all of four years old, Dean. The only reason I didn't say it when you were by yourself is because I knew you could and would. I guess I felt like I was insulting you if I said that," John explained heavily.

"It still would have been nice to hear it," Dean admitted sadly.

"You were always so reliable, so capable, I guess sometimes, it was so easy to forget that you were just a kid," John replied softly.

John and Dean regarded each other silently, both wanting to say more, neither one really knowing what to say next. John could tell that his eldest still had a lot on his chest that he needed to get out and had started with what he felt was the safest thing, something he was sure that his dad would be able to explain away easily.

"We done now?' Dean asked again.

"I said we weren't even close," John stated.

Dean's shoulders slumped. "What do you want from me?'" he asked his dad dejectedly.

"I want you to be honest with me," John replied.

"I'm tired," Dean tried.

"Talk to me, Dean, please. Why would you think I don't care?" John begged.

This time he got the explosion he was looking for.

**"**_**BECAUSE YOU NEVER HAVE!!!!!!"**_

John was startled by this because this time, he wasn't ready for it. What Dean said surprised him so much that he took a step back. He had shifted his position slightly and Dean saw his opening. If he reacted fast enough, he would have just enough time to squeeze past his father and that's exactly what he did.

"Dean, wait," John called out to his retreating form as he took off after his first born.

Dean managed to make it out the front door and John was debating whether or not to follow him when Sam, Frank and Bobby came around the corner. All three spoke at once.

"Johnny, what happened?

"Dad, is Dean alright?"

"John, what's going on?

"I screwed up again. I don't know how to get him to talk to me," John said. Defeat radiating off him.

"I'm going to go find Dean," Sam said as he started for the door.

"I'm coming with you, Sam," Frank added.

"Both of you freeze," Bobby ordered.

"He shouldn't be by himself, Bobby," Sam said worriedly.

"I know, but he's not going to be, Sam," Bobby assured the youngest Winchester.

"Maybe you should go, Bobby," said Frank. "You seem to have the magic touch with Dean."

Bobby turned toward John and looked at the man he considered a brother, even more so than his own brother. "Your call, Johnny."

"There's nothing I want more than to let you go out there, Bobby," John said honestly. "But it's got to be me. With what he just said to me, if I don't go out there, then it's just going to re-enforce that belief."

John took a deep breath and went out the door after his son. He knew just where Dean would go. He went straight for Bobby's garage, Dean's favourite place to go when he got upset, or when something was overwhelming him. When he got to the garage, his heart broke again.

John found his boy slumped against the wall furthest from the entrance. He was sitting down, his head bowed and his arms wrapped around his legs. John wondered where his sling was. He knew that in that position, his shoulder must really be hurting, but John suspected that was the point. Dean was using physical pain so he didn't have to deal with his emotional pain.

John walked over to his son and called his name softly, so as not to startle him. Dean didn't react so John did the only thing he could think to do. He sat next to his son and put his arm around his good shoulder and pulled him close, all the time whispering, "It's okay, buddy, I'm here," much like he had when Dean was four.

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_It was a couple of__months after the fire__and Dean had been admitted to the hospital with a high fever. That night, there had been a freak snow storm and it knocked out power and phone services for two days. The roads were impassable and it took those two days before John had anyway to contact the hospital. When he got there,__Dean had been practically catatonic, thinking his father had gone__away, just like his mom had. John had crawled into bed alongside Dean and gathered him in his__arms, repeating how sorry he was and that he was here,__and what a brave boy Dean was._

_It had taken about two hours,__but Dean had finally come__back to him and whispered__Daddy. It was sweetest sound John had ever heard. It was shortly after that, that John had come across a teddy bear__with angel wings in a gift shop. He brought the bear and the next time Dean was in the hospital, John had told him that his mom had sent it to Pastor Jim, so that he would know that she was with him if John couldn't be. _

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_I wish you were here now,__Mary, John thought._

Dean felt the presence beside him and knew that it was his father, and as much as he wanted to pull away when he felt his father's arm around him, instead he leaned into the embrace. He always felt safe when he was in his father's arms.

Father and son sat there for a good half hour before either one moved, neither wanting to be the first one to break the embrace.

Dean looked at his father and said quietly, "I tried, I tried so hard."

"Tried what, Dean?" John asked just as softly.

"To be the son you wanted me to be."

"You **are,**Dean," John said firmly.

Dean gave a soft smile, but it never reached his eyes, and John knew that Dean didn't believe him.

"I'm sorry I was such a screw up," Dean murmured.

"Dean, stop it. You're not a screw up," John stated just as firmly.

"I am," Dean repeated with conviction.

"Then tell me why, Dean, why do you think that?" John asked, his tone implying that it was on order.

"Because I couldn't do anything right. I mean, you trusted me to look after Sammy and I almost got him killed," Dean started as he remembered the incident with the Shtriga.

John wanted to say something, but instinct told him to remain quiet. He had a feeling that Dean wasn't done and if he interrupted him, Dean wouldn't talk anymore. He was right.

"I was always getting sick, and you couldn't hunt because you had to be at the hospital with me. I could barely string two words together when I was in school and you were always getting called in. I almost got Sam taken by social services, and it was my fault that Sam left." Dean stopped there and looked at his father. "Do you want me to go on, or do you get the point?" Dean said bitterly.

"I want you to listen to me, Dean and listen good. None of that stuff was your fault. You were born two months premature, Dean, you got sick because your immune system wasn't as strong as other newborns. Don't you dare blame yourself because I was at the hospital with you, that's where _**I**_ chose to be. After what happened when you were four, I didn't want that to happen again. If you're sick or hurt, then that's where I want to be," John said.

"Then why didn't you come see me or call me back?" Dean asked as he shifted his eyes toward his father. "Dad, I called you from Lawrence, Sam called you when I was dying. You never came," Dean accused sadly.

"I was in Lawrence, Dean. I came as soon as I got your phone call," John admitted. "I didn't know if it was safe for me to show myself and, Dean, I hope you believe me because I swear, if I thought for one second you couldn't handle it, I would have showed. Dean, when I got that phone call from Sam, it nearly killed me. I couldn't let you die. I knew I had to find a way to save you."

"What are you saying, Dad?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"I was in Nebraska. I had a lead on the demon, but while I was there, I heard about the reverend. I had my suspicions about what was going on and I was getting ready to send the co-ordinates to you and Sam, but then I got that message from your brother. I contacted Joshua and asked him to pass the message on."

"You did that? Some guy is dead because of me," Dean spat out.

"I feel bad for that guy's family, Dean, I do, but I couldn't let you die."

"Did you ask the reverend to make sure I got on stage?"

"No, Dean, you did that yourself. I had a feeling you would. I was there, in the shadows. He said he saw into your heart and that's what caused him to pick you. If you hadn't been healed, Dean, I swear I would have been there."

"But some guy died because of me. You shouldn't have done that. I was ready to face death. It's a dangerous gig. I'm not a child, you had no right to make that decision for me," Dean said, his pain and guilt written across his face.

"_**You're my child,"**_ John stated emphatically. "A parent isn't supposed to out live their child. I would have done _**anything**_ to save you, Dean, even if it meant making a deal with old yellow eyes himself."

"_**NO!!!!" **_Dean cried. "Dad, you can't, promise me."

"I can't do that, Dean. If it was the only way to save you or Sammy, I'd do it in a heartbeat, without thinking twice. I almost didn't survive after I lost your mother and without you, I definitely wouldn't have. If something happened to you or your brother, I wouldn't make it. I wouldn't want to." John admitted.

"I'm not worth it," Dean said.

"**You are!!!**" John emphasized. With that, he cupped Dean's face in his hand and gently turned it so they were looking eye to eye. "You're my son, and that's reason enough. You make an instant impression on just about everyone you meet, Dean. Your mom, me, my dad, we all fell in love with you from the minute we laid eyes on you. Even baby Sammy was fascinated with his big brother."

"Not everybody," Dean muttered.

"Even Frank. Like I said, he never saw you when you were a baby, and when he did, he fell in love with you too. Let's not forget Bobby. This is something I never told you, Dean. When Caleb sent me to Bobby, he gave me a warning. He told me that Bobby wasn't too happy about having kids around and was only allowing it because he knew I had no other choice. We weren't even there for a week and he was inviting you down to his salvage yard. He told me he hadn't even let his brother's kids down there until they were into their teens. He didn't trust them. That should tell you something."

"What about my grandmother, she made her feelings toward me loud and clear," Dean said dejectedly.

"Dean, please don't judge yourself based on Margaret. She's a miserable, hateful, spiteful old woman who only likes herself," John explained. "Did you know that she didn't even like your mother?"

Dean looked at his father in surprise.

"It's true, you can even ask Frank. Your mom was too much of a free spirit. She was interested in doing more than just getting married to some rich guy. She did her own thing. When she started to date me, forget it, Margaret practically disowned Mary. She didn't come to the wedding and refused to even acknowledge that I was her son in law. She didn't know you, she made a judgement based on the fact that I'm your father. You want something to judge yourself by, look at the impression that you made on Frank's friends. He told me that Ian really enjoyed meeting you, and he told me all about Paul and Michelle Ames, and what you did for Steven. Frank also told me that his associate, Andrea, couldn't stop gushing about you, and Sam told me about Lucas. You want me to keep going or do you get the point?" John said.

"I get the point," Dean said softly. He was starting to get uncomfortable. He didn't feel like he deserved the praise.

"Good, now I'm going to say this once and for all, and then we're never going to mention the situation again. It was not your fault that social services came around. I told you that you protected us. Now I have a confession to make," John admitted.

"What?" Dean asked warily.

"After about six months, they stopped coming around. It was the first time since your mom was killed that I really got to be a father to you boys. I didn't want to give that up," John said

Dean looked at his father. "You what?" he asked in disbelief.

"I know you hated that school, Dean, especially after what happened. Maybe I was selfish, okay I was selfish, but I liked us being a family," John explained.

"Me too," Dean admitted softly. "Even you and Sammy got along pretty good. Why'd you leave?"

"Honestly, I missed hunting and I know you did too. With you graduating and turning 18, social services couldn't touch you anymore. Plus, you did so well, Dean. I didn't want to take you away. You were pulling almost straight A's by this point and I would say getting a full scholarship to MIT proved just how far you came."

John felt all the tension re-enter Dean's body and he cursed himself for bringing up Dean's marks.

"Brilliant me," Dean said sarcastically.

"I promised myself that I was going to try to avoid I'm sorry, because a lot of times, it sounds so hallow, but this is one area where I do owe you an apology, Dean, a big one. It was so easy just to believe the teachers when they said that you weren't applying yourself. If I had taken the time to look, I would have seen that you were trying and I'm sorry I didn't. Then, Ms. King told me you might have a learning disability, and I would need to give you a lot of support during the testing period. I got so wrapped up in that hunt that I failed to give you that support."

"They made me do stupid stuff, dad. They asked me to identify letters, like I didn't even know the alphabet, and read words that a four year could read, and even read words that didn't exist. I couldn't do it," Dean said miserably.

"They were tests designed to see if you had dyslexia. The fact that you couldn't confirmed it. I should have taken time to explain the tests to you and I should have been there for you period, Dean. I hope you can forgive me for not being there. Same with when you were reading that Shakespeare play," John said contritely.

"I tried to study by myself, but I didn't have time. They laughed at me, dad. Do you know what that was like?" Dean said trying unsuccessfully to keep the hurt from his voice.

"No, son, and I hate the fact that you had to go through that. I wish I could go back and re-live that day. I truly am sorry, Dean" John said sincerely. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" Dean asked.

"That day, after I got back from that meeting with Ms. King, I found that test in the garbage pail. Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"I tried," Dean snapped. "You wouldn't let me. You just wanted to believe the worst. I was worried that if I showed it to you, you were going to accuse me of cheating,"

That admission floored John. "Dean, you are as honest as the day is long. I knew it wasn't in you to cheat. I'm so sorry I made you feel that way, son."

"I tried so hard, Dad," Dean admitted. "I just wanted to make you proud."

"You did, Dean," John said.

"No, I didn't," was Dean's reply.

"Why would you say that?"

With that, Dean jumped to his feet. John thought that he was going to bolt again, but he just walked to the other end of the garage. Then he turned and gave his second explosion.

"_**IF I MADE YOU SO PROUD,**__**WHY DID YOU WANT TO SEND ME AWAY?"**_

It wasn't often that John was speechless, but this was one of those times. "Dean, I…"

"Please, dad, don't insult both of us by pretending that you don't know what I'm talking about. I _**heard **_you talking to Pastor Jim that night," Dean admitted.

"Dean, I was just frustrated. I didn't know how to help you. I thought that if you had some stability with your schooling, it might have helped. I didn't want to send you away, Dean," John said.

"You thought it would be for my own good. Is that it? Why didn't you? Did Pastor Jim not want me either?" Dean ground out.

"He did, Dean, he would have taken you in a heart beat. He made me see that it wasn't the best idea and that it would have done more harm than good. You were never meant to know about it, Dean."

"What if I didn't have dyslexia, what if I was just a screw up, what would you have done then?"

"I would have gotten you a tutor anyway. That's what Jim suggested. I promise, Dean, it was a rash decision, not one I would have followed through on," John explained truthfully. He just hoped Dean believed him.

"You probably would have been better off," Dean said and John frowned. Did Dean really think so little of himself? "I mean, you obviously thought so."

"Dean, I admit that I made a mistake by thinking about sending you to Pastor Jim's, but why would you say that I would be better off without you?" John asked curiously.

"Because you ditched me the first chance you got. You said I could handle the job in New Orleans and you sent me there, then you left. I couldn't reach you after that, I didn't know if you were alive or dead," Dean explained.

"That wasn't why I left, Dean. I finally found out what had killed your mother. I left to pursue that lead," John tried to explain.

"You could have told me," Dean muttered sullenly.

"I was worried. I was afraid that it would come after you and Sammy," John said

"Don't you think we could have been better prepared if we knew that truth?" Dean questioned reasonably. "I guess it was the right thing though, considering. I mean, I screwed up in Chicago and you almost got killed. Sam almost got killed that time too, and because I was such a screw up in school, even Bobby could have been killed. Maybe you would have been better off if you let them pull the plug," Dean muttered.

John instantly felt his temper flare up. He immediately closed the distance between himself and Dean and he grabbed his son by the arms and whirled Dean around to face him. Dean flinched as it pulled at his sore shoulder. John wanted to slap Dean for that remark, but instead, he just pulled Dean into the biggest bear hug that he could. Dean tried to pull away, but John just held on tighter.

"Don't you say that, Jonathan Dean, don't even think it," John said forcibly. "You and your brother make my life complete and I don't ever want to hear that kind of talk again. Understand?"

Dean remained quiet. "**Dean," **John prompted just as forcibly.

"Yes, Sir," he said so quietly, with eyes downcast.

"Now you listen to me, Jonathan Dean Winchester Junior," John said as he let go of Dean and cupped his face so that Dean was forced to look his father in eye. "You take that thought out of your head. You are not a screw up. You never have been and you never will be. You had no choice but to call me in Chicago. And Dean, Bobby was never in danger. I was just in a hurry to get out of there, I wasn't really listening to what you were saying. I knew by saying that, you would let me go. I'm so sorry for dismissing you like that. As for the leaving, I have to admit that a lot of times, I got so caught up in the hunt that I sometimes forgot about you and your brother's needs. I knew I could do it because I knew that I had you at home, taking care of things."

"But..." Dean started.

"No, let me finish. As for the shtriga and the fear demon, you didn't screw up. I did. You were nine years old, Dean, you should never have been in that situation in the first place and, Dean, what I said to you that night that we battled that fear demon, I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to myself. Unfortunately, you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It got to me to and I took it out on you," John admitted.

"You don't think I'm pathetic?" Dean asked in a small voice.

"Never. You, Jonathan Dean Winchester Jr, are not now, and have never been, a screw up. Just look at how many people are alive because of you."

"Not as many as you," Dean said.

"I was able to take so many hunts because I knew that you were taking care of things on the home front, so indirectly, you saved their lives too. Now, Dean, I am truly sorry that you got hurt over this whole mess with Frank, but in one way, I'm glad he asked your mom and me not to name you after him because you don't know how proud I am that you have my name," John admitted wholeheartedly.

"I'm proud to have your name too, dad," Dean also admitted shyly.

"Do you want to me to start calling you little Johnny, or JJ?" John teased lightly as he tested the waters.

"No offense, dad, but I like Dean," Dean said with a small grin.

"Me too, kiddo, it suits you," John replied. He dropped his arms to his side and then he gave in to the impluse to ruffle Dean's short hair, much to the younger man's chagrin.

"Dad, in that journal that mom left for me, she told me everything, even stuff that was hard to read, like the doctors wanting to pull the plug, why didn't she tell me the truth about grandpa?" Dean asked.

"Your mom, she told me that she was in charge of naming any children we had. She claimed that was her right after carrying you for nine months. I could never say no to your mother. She never really looked at it as not telling you the truth. She named you after me because she thought you had my strength. She loved you with everything she had, right from the moment she found out she was pregnant with you and she was proud, Dean, please don't doubt that," John said firmly.

"I miss her," Dean admitted as he began to swallow convulsively and John knew that he was dangerously close to tears.

"Me too, kiddo," John said as his own eyes filled up. "Come here," John said as he opened his arms back up to Dean. Dean hesitated briefly and then practically jumped into them.

"I'm here, Dean," John repeated once again and Dean could no longer control his emotions, but much to Dean's surprise, John's flood gates opened as well. For a long time, they remained that way, in each others arms and taking comfort in one another's presence, neither wanting to be the one to break that embrace and during this time, father and son took a giant step towards healing.

John, knowing that Dean had to be exhausted and in pain, reluctantly pulled back. He kept his remaining arm over Dean's shoulders, not wanting to lose all contact. "Come on, Dean, lets get back to the house," John suggested.

"One sec," Dean said as he walked over to the tool bench where he had thrown his sling when he had gotten to the garage. He gave his dad a tiny smile. "Wouldn't want Bobby to see me without it, I don't want to sleep on the porch," Dean joked.

"Good idea, son." John said. "But if you show up without it, it won't be you sleeping on the porch. Dean, I honestly think you could burn down Bobby's garage, on purpose, and he would still forgive you," John said as he waited for Dean to join him. When Dean was back at his father's side, John's arm found it's way back to the now familiar place around Dean's good shoulder.

John led Dean back to the house. Sam, Frank and Bobby, knowing that Dean would be in no shape to discuss what had taken place between father and son, made themselves scarce. They could talk to them in the morning. Dean first went to the washroom and even though it was early, he was exhausted. It was a testament to just how tired he was that he was ready to admit it. When he got back to his room, he saw his teddy bear sitting by his pillow.

Dean smiled, a true smile. He was glad his dad had brought it. He was seriously regretting leaving it behind. Instead of putting it back into his bag, he left it where it was, he didn't even care if Sam saw it later. He climbed into bed, looked at the bear and said "Good night, mom. I'll do my best to continue making you proud. I love you.'" With that, he rolled over and promptly went to sleep, he was gone before his head hit the pillow.

Unbeknownst to Dean, John watched his son from the hallway. He smiled when he saw Dean crawl into bed and leave the bear where John had put it when Dean was in the bathroom.

"That's my boy," John said fondly and with pride.

Please read and review. I'm addicted to reviews and the make me write faster.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Still don't own them

A/N Thank you to Soar for her awesome beta work. I don't know what I would do without you. Any left over mistakes are completely mine.

"Dad," a voice from behind called John. John wasn't expecting anyone and he visibly startled. He turned and saw his youngest son coming up behind him.

"How'd it go?" Sam asked curiously, although his facial expression showed his concern.

"I'm not sure," John answered honestly with a shrug of his shoulders. "We talked about a lot of things, but I'm not sure what actually hit home. Sometimes, with your brother, it's so hard to tell."

"Has to keep his game face on," Sam said sadly.

"I made so many mistakes. I'm lucky to be getting a second chance, with both of you," John replied as he hugged his younger son.

Sam accepted the embrace and when his dad let go, he peeked into the bedroom. Dean looked peaceful and was sleeping lightly. Sam took that as a good sign.

"It's been a long day, dad, for all of us. I think I'm going to go lay down and read for a bit. 'Night," Sam said. John read the unspoken words behind this. _I want to be with Dean in case he needs me._

"Okay. 'Night, Sam," John said. His unspoken words were read by Sam as well. _Call me if anything happens with Dean._

Sam watched as his father walked down the hallway towards the kitchen. He knew his dad was trying, Sam just wished it hadn't taken Dean almost dying for it to happen. He changed into his bedclothes and lay on the bed next to his sleeping brother and for once, Sam acted like the older sibling and kept watch over Dean.

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Frank and Bobby joined John in the kitchen, they wanted to know how things had gone. John told them the same thing he had told Sam, he wasn't sure.

An awkward tension filled the room. In order to break it, Frank asked John to share his favourite memory of Dean. John thought about the first time he had been alone with his son. That was his favourite memory, but it was private, so he told them about Dean's first experience under the hood of a car.

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1982

Three year old Dean Winchester woke from his nap. He climbed out of his big boy bed and plodded down the hall to call his mommy, because Mommy had told him not to walk down the stairs without supervision.

"Mommy," he called at the top of his lungs. "Nap done."

Mary, who was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and a harlequin romance in her hands, her secret pleasure, sighed and looked at the clock. At least this time he had managed a whole half hour. Her son hated to nap, it was almost as if he was afraid he was missing something. John swore it was because Dean had spent most of the first two months of his life sedated and had slept enough.

"Coming, Dean," she answered before he could get impatient.

Mary walked up the stairs and escorted her young son down. He states that he was thirsty and Mary took him to the kitchen for a drink. Once he was seated at the table with some milk, he asked, "Where's Daddy?"

"He's out in the garage," Mary replied, gently smoothing his baby hair away from his face.

"Did the car swallow him again?" Dean asked fearfully.

Mary tried not to smile. A couple of days ago, she and Dean had been outside playing when she turned her back for a few seconds. When she turned around, she found Dean missing. She was just about to panic when Dean let loose a terrible scream. He had wandered into the garage, looking for his Daddy, and found him with his legs sticking out from under the car. The three year old, immediately thinking that John had been attacked, screamed. John, startled by the noise, smacked his head on the undercarriage and immediately slid out from underneath. He found Mary and a hysterical Dean.

"Dean, buddy, what's wrong?" John asked with concern.

The blood from the small cut where he had hit himself made Dean worse.

"Mommy, don't let it hurt daddy," the small boy cried.

John looked at Mary. "It's okay, Dean-o," she said trying to explain. "You tell me what you think is hurting daddy and I'll take care of it. Nobody or nothing messes with my boys," Mary said with authority.

"Yeah, buddy, mommy will protect us," John agreed.

"Don't let the car hurt daddy, mommy," the three year old said as he buried his head into his mother's chest.

John and Mary, not wanting to hurt Dean's feelings, held back the temptation to laugh. Instead, Mary said seriously "I won't, Dean-o. You go inside with Daddy for some cookies and I'll take care of it," Mary said as she handed Dean to John.

"I love it when you get authoritative," John said as he took Dean in his arms. He turned back to Dean. "Come on, buddy, we'll let mom do her thing and go get some broccoli okay," John said as he named Dean's most hated food. He got the reaction he was hoping for. Dean instantly forgot about the car.

"Yuck, daddy, mommy said cookies. Mommy, daddy's not listening," Dean tattled. "Is he going to get a time out?"

"Yes, he's a bad boy. He'll get his time out later tonight though," Mary said with a wink to John.

John took Dean in the house, while Mary remained in the garage trying to compose herself.

In the house, John took Dean into the bathroom and wiped his face and then took him to the kitchen for cookies. Soon, Dean was munching away happily, all his troubles forgotten.

"Mommy?" Dean prompted again when Mary didn't answer and Mary came back to the present.

"No, Dean-o, the car's not hurting him. I took care of that. I gave it a firm talking to. You know how you went to the doctor last week and he checked you out to make sure you weren't sick?" Mary asked.

"Yeah, I don't have to go back do I? I don't want to. I like my big boy bed," Dean emphasized.

Mary smiled wistfully. At 3, Dean had already spent more time in hospitals than most people did in their lifetimes. "No, Dean-o, you don't have to go back today. That's what Daddy's doing with the car though. He's checking it out to make sure it's healthy. Daddy's like a doctor, except he looks after cars instead of people," Mary tried to explain in a way the toddler would understand.

"Is it going to get a shot?" Dean asked sympathetically. He suddenly felt sorry for the car, thinking of what the doctors did to him.

"It might," Mary said lightly.

Before Mary could say anymore, John walked in.

"Daddy, did you have to give the car a shot?" Dean asked seriously.

John looked at Mary in confusion and she gave him a small smile that said play along, I'll explain later.

"Not this time," John replied.

"It's lucky. Dr. Keeping gave me a shot when I was at the doctor's. I hate shots," Dean explained with a shudder.

John smiled sadly. He hated what his baby boy had already been through.

"I know, buddy, and you were very brave. I'm not that brave when I have to get a shot," John said.

"Was the car okay, Daddy?"

"It will be soon," John said.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked.

"I need to check some things on the car to make sure it runs properly," John explained.

"Like Dr. Mike, when he checked my heart," Dean said as he named his cardiologist, Dr. Mike Smith. Dean had to have an evaluation on the hole in his heart every so often, to determine if it needed to be repaired.

"Just like that, buddy," John explained.

"Can I come with you, daddy?" Dean asked.

"Why?" John asked.

"Because you and mommy are with me when I have tests. I think someone should be with the car," Dean said seriously.

Both John and Mary smiled at each other over the top of Dean's head.

"I don't know, Dean-o," Mary said hesitantly. She didn't want Dean to get hurt.

"It's okay, Mary," John reassured his wife. "Yes, you can come, but you have to listen to what I say, Dean. This is very serious. If I tell you to do something, you have to do it without question, if you promise me that, then you can come," John said as he crouched down to his son's level.

"Yay!" Dean shouted. He loved spending time with his dad.

"First though, I don't want you to ruin your clothes so go and get your raincoat out of the closet, okay?"

Dean's first thought was to ask why he needed his raincoat if it wasn't raining, but then he remembered what his dad had said and ran to the closet.

"Are you sure about this, John?" Mary asked worriedly.

"It's okay, Mary," John assured her once again. "I'm not going to do any repairs, I'll just show him a few things. There's nothing there that can't wait until tomorrow, when he's at the sitters."

"Just be careful alright," Mary warned.

"Always. Now why is Dean asking about the car?" John asked curiously.

"I told him you were a car doctor. I guess he wants to make sure you're a good one," Mary grinned.

"I love you, Mary Winchester, did I ever tell you that?" John said as he stepped up to his wife, pulled her gently toward him and held her loosely around the waist.

"Just this morning, but you can tell me as often as you like," Mary said as she leaned forward and kissed her husband.

"Yuck," came a voice from behind them. "That's gross."

"Later," John promised Mary. "Come on, buddy."

John took Dean into the garage with him and got out his extra dolly, that would allow him to roll under the car easily. John explained firmly to Dean that they weren't toys and he was never to touch them. Dean agreed and commented that they reminded him too much of hospital stretchers anyway.

Dean quickly became fascinated by everything John was showing him. When John had finished explaining the undercarriage to Dean, he took him around to the front of the car and popped the hood and explained everything there.

"Is that where it gets IV's?" Dean asked when John showed him how he topped up the car's fluids.

"Sort of," John explained as he reached out and ruffled Dean's shaggy hair. He really needed a hair cut. "Am I a good doctor, Dean?" John asked.

"You're like Dr. Mike, Daddy. I like him, he tells me what's going on and he tells me if it's going to hurt. You're not like Dr. Keeping, he's an ass," Dean said with as much conviction as a three year old could.

"Jonathan Dean, you know you're not supposed to say bad words. Now where did you hear that?" John scolded his son lightly as he tried not to laugh.

Dean frowned. His dad only called him that when he was mad, but he looked like he was smiling so Dean thought that he wasn't all that mad.

"From mommy, after my 'poinment. The doctor said something to mommy, mommy looked mad and then called him an ass. I don't think mommy likes Dr. Keeping, but I'm not sure. I think the car likes you though," Dean said with a grin.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, buddy. Why do you think mommy doesn't like Dr. Keeping?"

"Mommy looked mad when she called the doctor an ass, but yesterday, she was smiling when she said you had a nice ass. Daddy, what's an ass?" Dean asked with curiousity. The word confused him.

John picked up Dean and hugged him. "Tell you what, buddy, mom's the expert, so we'll let her explain that one, okay? Now, let's say we go get cleaned up and take mommy out to dinner. You can ask her then," John said trying to get Dean off the subject.

"Yeah, can we go to MacDonald's?" Dean asked happily.

"Let's let Mommy pick the restaurant."

"Okay," Dean said agreeing. "Oh and Daddy?"

"Yeah, buddy, what is it?"

"When I get big, I wanna be a car doctor like you. I'll look after our car like you do," Dean said with an infectious grin.

"I don't doubt it, buddy, now come on."

"I love you, daddy," Dean said as he let his head fall onto his father's shoulder, snuggling into the man's warmth and strenght.

"Me too, kiddo, I don't know what I would have done without you this afternoon," John said and he placed a gentle kiss on Dean's soft hair.

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Frank and Bobby were nearly in of laughter at John's story. They could picture Dean doing exactly what John had described.

"Did Dean ever ask Mary?" Frank inquired.

"Yup, right in the middle of the crowded restaurant. I don't think I ever saw Mary so embarrassed. That poor waitress even ended up spilling a water glass," John said with a chuckle.

"John, you must have had your hands full," Frank stated. "Guess that explains Dean's fascination with cars."

"You don't know the half of it, Frank," John commented.

"He was so good with them," Bobby interjected. "I don't think there's a car he can't fix."

"John, can I ask you something?" Frank asked. "What's your favourite memory of Sam?"

A huge grin lit up John's face. "I thought you were going to ask me something hard. That would be the day Sam was born."

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1982

That night, after they got back from the restaurant and Dean was put to bed, Mary and John had a quiet night of just enjoying each other's company. They were getting ready for bed when Mary spoke.

"Dean's been pretty healthy lately. I mean, he was only in the hospital once this year."

"We're pretty lucky, Mare. We have a great kid," John said happily.

"I agree. Dean wants a brother," Mary announced suddenly and she looked at John nervously.

"Are you…?" John trailed off.

"No," Mary said regretfully. "But I'd like to be. We make beautiful babies, Winchester."

"I know, Mary. I want more kids too and I think that Dean would be the best big brother ever, but what about…?" John left the thought unfinished. He didn't like to talk too much about Mary's complications. It reminded him too much of how close he had come to losing his son.

"I'm worried too, John. That's what I asked Nathan about at Dean's appointment. He advised me against it and said all the same things would happen and this time, we wouldn't be so lucky. I swear that guy's an..."

"Mary Margaret Winchester, you really need to watch your language. You never know who's listening."

"I bet you're the one that put our boy up to that stunt in restaurant, Jonathan Dean Winchester Sr," Mary said accusingly.

"It's your own fault," John defended himself.

"Did you see the look on that waitress' face? I thought the poor girl was gonna faint," Mary giggled.

"It almost matched the one on yours," John reminded his wife.

"That's what I love about kids," Mary admitted. "They're so honest. You wouldn't believe some of the things I've heard my third graders say."

"I can imagine," John said rolling his eyes.

"Seriously, John, what do you think about trying again?"

"I want to give Dean a baby brother or sister, Mary. I was an only child and it's something I always wished for," John replied. "I say we give Dean his wish. I'd love to have another child, but I have to admit, I'm nervous."

"Me too, but look at Dean, John. He's living proof that doctors don't know everything," Mary pointed out.

"Mary, what do you say we prove that quack wrong again," John stated.

"I agree. Let's," Mary said with a wild glint in her eyes.

Nine months later to the day, 7lb 10 ounce Samuel Francis Winchester entered the world.

Despite the signs that all would go well, both John and Mary were extremely nervous about what would happen during Mary's pregnancy. Their fears were proven unfounded though, as Mary's pregnancy was textbook from beginning to end. Both Mary and John were greatful. Mary had even more reasons to be happy because she was able to work things out with her father, temporarily.

She had taken Dean to the hospital because he had his check up with his cardiologist. Mary liked Dr. Smith a lot. He treated Dean with respect, he made sure that Dean knew what was about to happen and that he understood it, but most importantly, he made Dean aware of what was going to hurt. Unlike that other idiot who treated Dean like he didn't know black from white.

The test that Dean was having today was one of the more painful ones, so Dr. Smith had opted to sedate Dean. While he was sleeping off the effects of the medication and Mary was waiting for the results, she decided to go get a cup of coffee. No sooner did she leave the room than she saw her father for the first time in over three years.

"Mary," Frank greeted.

"Hi, dad," Mary returned Frank's greeting stiffly.

"How have you been?" Frank asked tentatively.

"I'm good, no, better than good. Great actually. I couldn't be happier," Mary said genuinely.

"I can see that," Frank said indicating Mary's swollen belly.

Mary grinned and placed her hand on her stomach. "How have you been?"

"Things are going well at the office," Frank commented.

"That's good," Mary said. "And mom?"

"Margaret's... well she's Margaret," Frank said wryly.

Mary grinned. She knew what her father was saying.

"Are things okay with...?" Frank trailed off.

"Yeah, dad, things are going great. No complications whatsoever. Knock on wood," Mary said with a grin.

"I'm happy for you, Mary. I really am and how's um...?" He wasn't sure how to address his grandson, he knew that Mary had named him after John, but he didn't know what sort of nickname he went by.

"Dean," Mary supplied.

"How's Dean?" Frank asked.

"He's had a few problems," Mary said honestly. "He's prone to infection and he has a hole in his heart, but it doesn't really seem to bother him. The doctors have to keep on eye on it but despite everything he's been through, he's a real little trooper and his dad and I couldn't be more proud of him."

"Mary, I'm sorry," Frank said.

"I know you are, dad," Mary said. "But it still doesn't change what happened."

"Mary, do you think you can ever forgive me? I miss you so much. I want to get to know my grandsons or my granddaughter, if that's what you have."

Mary wanted to tell her father what he could do with his apology, but he was her dad. Despite everything, she loved him and she hated to deprive her son of his grandfather.

"I think it's grandsons, Dad. Dean informed me that I'm having a boy," Mary said as she extended an olive branch.

Frank smiled for the first time in years. "Smart boy, just like his mother."

Mary checked her watch. "Dean should be waking up soon. I better get back, he doesn't like waking up in the hospital alone. Maybe we can get together for coffee tomorrow."

"I'd like that, Mary, thank you," Frank said gratefully.

"Dad, this is your only chance. Don't blow it," Mary advised wisely.

When Mary got home that night, she told John about her run in with her father. John understood and he wanted to put the past behind them too. Even better, that day, Dr. Smith informed them that everything was okay with Dean's heart, no surgery was necessary for the time being.

During the next few months, Mary and Frank started to repair their relationship. Until things went smoothly between herself and her father, Mary decided to limit Frank's contact with Dean, in case they couldn't work things out, she didn't want to have to explain to him why grandpa stopped coming over. It wasn't quite the same, but both father and daughter would take what they could get.

May 2, 1983 started like any other day. John got up and got ready for work, but just as he was about to leave, Mary called out to him.

"Um, John, do you think you can get the day off? Mary said with a hitch in her voice as she tried to keep the pain out her tone.

"I don't know," John teased. He was self-employed and set his own hours. "The boss is a real jerk. Why?"

"Because it's time," Mary announced.

"For what?" John asked like a typical male.

"You idiot, it's time," Mary said through a clenched jaw as she was hit with another contraction.

"Oh, oh, why didn't you say something?" John said causally as if Mary had said it was time to go to the store for a quart of milk.

If Mary hadn't doubled over at that point, it would have been the last thing John ever said.

Never one to panic, John called his friend Mike to let him know what was going on. He dropped his eldest off with his friend. Mike was planning to take Dean to the garage to keep him occupied while his mother was at the hospital. This time, the delivery went much smoother and John watched and heard his child enter the world.

"It's a boy," Dr. Mackinnon announced. When Mary had had no problems with this pregnancy she went back to her regular doctor.

Mary started crying as she heard her new son announce his arrival. He definitely had a healthy set of lungs. John leaned over and kissed her and told her how proud of her he was. Then he started crying as well when they laid the baby on his mother's stomach.

"Dad, you want to do the honors?" Dr. MacKinnon asked, handing John the scissors to cut the cord, which John did proudly.

Mary reluctantly let the doctor take the baby after the cord was cut. Mary never broke eye contact with her new baby boy as the doctors weighed him and cleaned him up, and they returned him to his proud parents.

"Everything looks good Mary, John. Ten fingers, ten toes, good birth weight. Any thoughts on a name?"

"I'm leaning towards Samuel, after his grandfather," Mary said and John felt his eyes tear up again.

"I like it," John said as he voice wavered, his dad would have been so proud.

Later that day, Mary was in her hospital room when they brought Dean in to see his baby brother. Dean's face lit up like a kid at Christmas.

"What's his name, mommy?" Dean asked.

"I'm thinking Samuel," Mary said with a smile.

"Hi Sammy, I'm Dean. I'm your big brother and I promise to be the bestest one ever out of all the big brothers."

The baby seemed as fascinated with Dean as Dean was with the baby. Both Mary and John recognized an instant connection between their two boys. When visiting time was over, Dean didn't want to leave, but they eventually managed to pry him away from his little brother's side a little while later and Kathy took Dean home.

"He's so beautiful, Mary. You were so right, we do make beautiful babies. Thank you for making me that happiest man alive," John said, his voice choked with emotion.

"Hi, Mary," a voice from behind them called.

John and Mary looked up and greeted Frank.

"Is that him?" Frank said to the little bundle wrapped in a soft blue blanket and sound asleep beside his mother.

"Yup, this is your grandson, dad. Come say hello," Mary said softly.

"Hello. I'm your grandpa," Frank said softly as he greeted his new grandson, "He's perfect, Mary."

"So was, Dean," John said coldly before he could stop himself.

"John!" Mary warned.

"Sorry," John apologized but there wasn't much sincerity in his tone voice.

"Mary, you can name him Jackson if you want," Frank offered. Upon reflection, Frank would later realise that this was one of those times when he'd spoken before he really thought about what he had said. Frank was being sincere though, and he would have made the same offer no matter what, but unfortunately, it sounded like Frank had picked his younger son over his older one. No one did that.

_**"I don't believe you!!! How dare you. Is that the only reason you tried to make things right?**__** You thought this would be another chance. It doesn't work like that, Frank. If Dean wasn't good enough, then**__**neither is Sam," **_John ground out in a voice as loud as he dared. Mary would kill him if he woke Sam.

**"**John, please, I didn't mean that the way it sounded," Frank pleaded.

"John, dad, stop. You know, dad, we made a promise to you. I said we would name our son after you. I keep my promises," Mary said firmly. "Dad, meet Samuel Francis Winchester, and say good bye. I don't want to see you again, dad."

"Mary, please, don't do this," Frank begged.

"No, dad, you don't get to pick one of my sons over the other. Now get out before I call security," Mary ordered coldly.

Frank, not wanting a scene, slunk out of the room. He was so stupid. He glanced back and saw his daughter holding her son. That was the last time he ever saw Mary.

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Frank wiped tears out of his eyes and John instantly felt bad. He had forgotten that was not a happy day for Frank.

"I'm sorry," John offered.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry," Frank said.

"We've had enough hard feelings lately," Bobby said. "Let's focus on good ones."

"I agree," Frank said. "Your turn, Bobby. What's your favourite memory of the boys?"

"I'd be interested to hear that one myself, Bobby," John said.

"I have lots of good ones, but most of them are better told when the boys are here so they can be sufficiently embarrassed. But as for my favourite memory, let me think a minute," Bobby paused. "I would have to say it was the fist time I met all three Winchesters."

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1986

Bobby Singer was sitting at the desk in his home office, going through his books. He was trying to figure out where he had gone wrong. He was seriously going to have to hire someone for this.

_Ring, Ring._

Glad for a reprieve, Bobby pushed the books back and grabbed the phone.

"Hello," he greeted.

_"Hey, Bobby. It's Caleb," greeted the caller._

"What's up?"

_"Hello, to you to sunshine," Caleb said with a snort of suppressed laughter_

"You want something or are you just calling to annoy me?" Bobby ground out.

_"As much__fun as that is,__I do have another purpose," Caleb explained. "You up for training a newbie?"_

"How new?" Bobby asked curiously.

_"He's been training with me and Jim for the almost 3 years and doing some jobs here and there on his own. He's lucky he hasn't gotten himself killed. He needs to learn about demons. Name's Winchester," Caleb explained._

"Like the rifle?" Bobby asked.

_"Yup. He just about damn__near killed himself trying to do an exorcism. He's going to need to learn from the best."_

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Caleb. Go ahead and tell him to come."

"Sure thing, only there's on other thing." Caleb noticeably hesitated.

"What?" Bobby felt his apprehension start to grow.

_"He's got his kids with him."_

"Caleb, you know how I feel about kids. How am I supposed to teach their father with two brats running around destroying everything I own?" Bobby complained.

_"They're__good kids, Bobby."_

"There's no such thing," Bobby said bitterly.

_"I know you're thinking of Orvall's kids,__but trust me,__Bobby, Dean and Sam are nothing like Eric and Don. I wouldn't ask,__but he's a widower. He got no one else," Caleb said._

"You keep them while I train the father then."

_"He won't go anywhere without__them. Please Bobby,__I wouldn't ask if I had any where else to send him."_

"I don't like it, but tell him to come," Bobby sighed heavily. "Just tell him he'd better keep his brats under control and out of my way," Bobby instructed.

_"Thanks,__Bobby, I owe you one."_

"No, you owe me 107, but who's counting."

_"You are," Caleb said and they both laughed. _

"Damn straight. Goodbye, Caleb," Bobby said and hung up on his friend.

_Just what I need,__he thought. It had been 3 years since he'd last seen his brother. The last time they had been here was a nightmare. They had never gotten along,__but Orvall and his wife Becky,__and their kids, 12 year old Eric and 9 year old Don were travelling through and passing right by. They had just intended to stop for a few minutes,__but as fate would have it, Orvall's car had broken down shortly afterward and knowing his brother was a mechanic,__they just had the car towed to Bobby's yard. Bobby had had to order a part in__and was told that the earliest__they could get it there was in three days. Due to a convention,__all hotels in town were booked solid,__so they had no choice but to stay with Bobby. It was three days of__hell for both brothers. _

_Orvall had__constantly berated him for not following in their father's__footsteps and going into law. Bobby had a college degree,__but he had always enjoyed fixing and working on cars, so when he graduated,__he opened his own garage and hunted part time. Becky just__kept looking down her nose, as if Bobby's home didn't measure up to her standards,__but the kids were the worst._

_Orvall and Becky were well off and their kids were spoiled brats. Bobby's house wasn't overly large,__but he did have a spare bedroom,__used mostly by hunters who needed a place to stay,__or those who__were training with him. It contained two twin beds, and he also had a den with a pull out couch. He put his brother and sister in law in the den and the two boys in the bedroom. Immediately,__the kids started complaining that they didn't want to share a room, they wanted their own. Bobby offered them the porch, but Orvall was not amused._

_To make matters worse,__the kids expected to be waited on hand and foot and did everything__the opposite of what Bobby told them to do. He told them to stay away from his books and they had almost completed a summoning ritual by the time he caught them. Then they discovered his salvage yard. Bobby really didn't want them down there, he had nightmares of what could happen. He caught them one day and dragged them out of it and chained the gate. They complained to their parents that they had nothing to do, Bobby didn't have cable or video games or anything fun. Orvall tried to get Bobby to let them play in the salvage yard, after all,__what harm could they do. Bobby didn't want to find out so the lock remained on the gate. The brothers did the only other thing they could think of, they complained about everything. _

_Bobby was never so happy to see them leave._

Two days later, John Winchester arrived. He greeted Bobby and thanked him for taking them in. Then he opened the back seat of the car and two little boys spilled out of the back. Both boys hung back. They weren't supposed to talk to strangers unless their dad said it was okay.

"Boys," John said addressing the youngsters. "This is Bobby. We're going to be staying with him for awhile. He has some things to teach me," John explained, crouching down at his son's eye level.

"Are you going to school, Daddy, like Dean does?" the smallest boy addressed his father.

"Sort of, Sammy. Bobby, these are my boys," John said with pride. "This is Dean, he's seven and this is Sammy."

"I'm this many," Sammy said as he held up three fingers. He turned to his big brother. "Dean taught me that. He knows everything. Right, Dean?"

"Not everything, Sammy, but you did a good job with your numbers," Dean said proudly.

"Dean, can you get yours and Sam's bags from the back for me," John instructed his eldest son.

"Yes, Sir," Dean responded.

Bobby led them into the house and he noticed that while Dean was as quiet as a church mouse, Sam more than made up with for that. He never stopped talking.

"Dean, come on," John said to the boy as he lagged behind.

Bobby watched the middle Winchester. He seemed to be staring at all the cars in Bobby's yard as if he had died and gone to heaven. Bobby hoped he wasn't going to have to chain the gate again.

"Sorry, dad," he said and scrambled to catch up with the bags he was carrying.

Bobby put John in the den and he put the boys in the bedroom.

"Excuse me, Sir," Dean addressed the older man shyly.

Bobby was startled by how the boy addressed him. "Yes, Dean,"

"Dad said we would be here awhile. Should we unpack, or leave things in our duffle bags? He never said."

"You can unpack. You can use the dresser right there and you can call me Bobby," the older man said gruffly.

Bobby then watched as Dean helped Sam unpack their few belongings. He was surprised once again when Dean actually had taken the time to fold the things he was putting he. He also noticed that he showed his brother how to do it properly.

"Supper will be ready in about a half hour," Bobby said finally. He couldn't explain it, but he felt himself softening toward the young boys.

"Thank you," Dean said politely and turned his attention back to Sam.

Bobby just shook his head. There was no way this was going to last. He was surprised and pleased at how wrong he was.

Over the next couple of days, Bobby started John's training. The boys remained well behaved and Bobby was learning to tune out Sam's constant need to talk about everything. Bobby was amazed.

He found himself alone in his office one evening, John and the boys were watching TV, when Bobby had the distinct feeling that he was being watched. He looked up and saw a short, blond haired boy staring back at him.

"I'm sorry," Dean said as he prepared to run back to the living room. He wanted to ask Bobby about the cars, but his dad had said not to bug him.

"What's up?" Bobby asked the child finally.

"I was wondering if I could ask you something. You seem busy though. Never mind," Dean said and his shoulders slumped and his body began to turn away.

"It's okay," Bobby said quickly. "I was just trying to figure something out," Bobby explained. "You can come in. What did you want to ask me?"

"Do you own all those cars out there? My dad only has one, but I'm going to own it someday. Maybe then Dad can have one of your cars."

Bobby had already admired John's car. It was a beauty. "Your dad has a nice car and yes, all those cars are mine."

"How do you decide which one to drive?" Dean asked curiously.

"I don't really drive them. A lot of them don't work. I use the parts in them to fix other cars," Bobby explained.

"Are you a car doctor?" Dean asked.

"I guess you could say that," Bobby replied.

"My dad's a car doctor too. I'm going to be one as well. Dad started teaching me about them before..." Dean trailed off, his eyes suddenly filling with tears. Then as fast as they appeared, they disappeared and left Bobby wondering if he had been imagining things.

"Cars are pretty cool aren't they?" he asked instead.

"Yeah. I like it when they go fast," Dean admitted.

"Me too," Bobby agreed.

Dean was getting a little braver and he walked closer to Bobby. He wasn't so bad the child thought. He couldn't be if he liked cars. He looked at Bobby's books.

"What are those?" he asked as he pointed to the various ledgers.

"They're account books. I keep track of what I owe people and what they owe me in them, or at least I try," Bobby explained with a wry grin.

"Can I help?" Dean offered. "I like numbers. They're easier than stupid words. I'm teaching Sammy his numbers."

"I saw that. I wish you could help me. See these two columns. The totals are supposed to be the same," Bobby said as he pointed to the two figures.

"They're not," Dean pointed out helpfully.

"That's what I'm trying figure out. Why they're not," the older hunter said.

"Can I try?" Dean asked tentatively.

"Why not, you can't do any worse than me," Bobby said humouring him.

Dean looked at the columns. He tried to add them up, but as good as he was at math, he couldn't do it in his head. There were too many numbers. He asked Bobby for a pencil and some paper and if he was supposed to add or subtract them. Bobby said it was both and showed him which to add and which to subtract and one by one, Dean went through the numbers. He found that in one of the columns Bobby had forgotten to carry the one and the numbers were a little closer when he was done, but they still didn't balance. He frowned as he rechecked his work.

"It's okay, Dean. I think it's a lost cause," Bobby said, still taken aback at the child's efforts.

Dean was determined to figure this out though. Math was the only thing in school he was good at.

About 15 minutes later, he spoke. "If we got rid of this number here, it would match," Dean said pointing to one of the figures. "It's there twice. Is it supposed it be there twice?"

Bobby frowned as he looked at the figures. He saw that he had received a payment for one of his clients for $212 dollars. He looked further down the list and saw the exact same payment amount and that was when he realized his mistake. He had entered the payment twice, once when he received the check and again when he had cashed it. He looked at the little boy with a new found respect. How the hell had he figured that out in less than an hour? It had taken Bobby two days and he still hadn't found it.

"You know what, you're absolutely right. It doesn't go there, I entered it twice." He showed Dean the entries so the boy would know that Bobby wasn't humouring him.

"Thanks, little man," Bobby said sincerely.

"Dean," a voice said sharply and they both looked up, startled. "I told you not to bother Bobby, now apologize and go to your room," John ordered his son.

"I'm sorry, Bobby," Dean said as his shoulders slumped and he started to leave the room.

"Dean, wait," Bobby called after him. "John, it's okay, Dean's not bothering me and I'm honestly not just saying that. He just helped me out," Bobby explained.

"It's time for bed anyway. Go get Sammy ready and I'll be in to say goodnight," John said gruffly.

"'Kay. 'Night, Bobby," Dean said as he exited the room with a little wave to the older man.

"I'll talk to him, Bobby. He won't bother you again, I'll make sure he understands the consequences." John said when Dean left the room.

"Look, Johnny," Bobby said forcibly. "Dean wasn't bugging me. There's no reason to punish him. He asked a couple of questions about the cars in yard and then he helped me. You punish him for that and I swear to God, I'm going make you sleep on the porch."

John was taken aback. He wasn't used to people taking that tone with him. "Okay, I'll take your word for it. What could he have possibly helped with though?" John questioned.

"I think he might be some kind of math genius." Bobby showed John the original columns of numbers. "Dean figured out why they didn't balance. Can you?" Bobby challenged.

"Dean did that?" John said and he couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. He had seen Dean's grades in school.

"Yup, I may just have to consider making him my full time accountant," Bobby said only half joking.

"He's seven," John said in disbelief that Dean could have figured it out.

"Don't underestimate him, John," Bobby warned. "I think it would be a huge mistake."

"I won't, Bobby." John said.

The next day, Bobby invited Dean into his salvage yard and started to teach him more about cars. He was surprised when Dean made a lot of medical references and he questioned John about it later. John explained the circumstances surrounding Dean's birth. It was a couple of weeks after that when Dean skinned his knee and the rest was history. Bobby even found himself growing used to Sam's incessant chatter.

The Winchesters stayed with him for about a year and Bobby helped John get Dean through heart surgery and every day, he grew to love all the Winchesters a little more. John became like a brother to him, even though he infuriated Bobby a lot of the time, and the boys became like his own sons. He really missed them when they left.

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"Whoa," said Frank, genuinely impressed. "You must have been shocked when he figured out your problem."

"Shocked didn't even begin to describe it," Bobby admitted.

"MIT and Stanford. A father couldn't do better," John said with regret. His boys would have gone far.

"I don't know, Johnny. I still think Dean would have followed you into the garage. He was good at math, but automobiles are his first love," Bobby said.

"Maybe he..." John started, but he was cut off when he heard Sam's panicked cry of "DEAN!!!"

A/N. Okay I'm not writing any more flashbacks. John's story at the start was only supposed to be a couple of paragraphs, but as usual, it got away from me, so I changed the course of the whole chapter. Plus, there's some more angst coming up, so I figured I would write a lighter chapter.

Please read and review. I crave reviews and they make me right faster.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

Once again, thank you to Soar for the awesome beta job. Any left over mistakes are all mine.

_15 year old Dean Winchester walked out of his room, he needed to use the washroom and when he rounded the corner, he heard __his dad on the telephone. Dean quickly __realized that his dad was talking to Pastor Jim. He was debating whether to go and ask his dad if he could say hi, when the next words out of his father's mouth rooted __him to the spot. _

_"No, but it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. Dean's grades are getting worse. I don't know what to do with the boy anymore. He just won't listen. I was thinking about sending him to stay with you for the school year,__so that he would have a stable environment. Maybe that would get his attention," John paused and Dean then heard,__"Then tell me what to do, __Jim, because I'm fresh out of ideas."_

_Dean felt blood rush to his head, it felt like someone had just ripped the heart from his chest. His dad wanted to send him away, __and why would his dad ask Pastor Jim for another idea, did Pastor Jim not want him either? God,__he was such a screw up. Dean didn't want his dad to know that he had heard him, __so he walked quietly back to his room, desperately trying to keep the tears at bay. _

_The next day, Dean pretended that he hadn't __heard his father's phone call. When he got home from school later that day, __his dad called him into the kitchen and Dean was sure that John __was about to tell him to go start packing. What his dad said was the last thing he had expected though. John told him all about his meeting with Holly King and how she suspected that Dean __might have dyslexia. John had spent the next couple of hours going through the brochures that Ms. King had given him with Dean. Then,__he actually __apologized to Dean for not paying attention. His dad never once brought up the __idea of sending him away and Dean buried it deep inside himself, __or at least he thought he had._

The talk with his father had stirred up those memories again, though, and while Dean was sleeping, his subconscious was replaying this scene over and over in his mind. Unfortunately, Dean's subconscious was a scary place and all his fears and insecurities had been brought to the surface when he'd found out about Frank's rejection of him as a baby. Dean was not recalling this memory accurately.

_15 year old Dean Winchester walked out of his room, he needed to use the washroom and when he rounded the corner, __he heard __his dad on the telephone. Dean quickly __realized that his dad was talking to Pastor Jim. He was debating whether to go and ask his dad if he could say hi, when the next words out of his father's mouth rooted__him to the spot. _

_"No, but it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. Dean's grades are getting worse. I don't know what to do with the boy anymore. He just won't listen. I was thinking about sending him to stay with you for the school year, __so that he would have a stable environment. Maybe that would get his attention," John paused and Dean then heard, __"Then tell me what to do, __Jim, because I'm fresh out of ideas."_

_The next day, Dean pretended that he hadn't heard his father's phone call. When he got home from school later that day,__his dad called him into the kitchen and Dean was sure his dad was about to tell him to go start packing. _

_"__**Jonathan Dean, front and center!" **__John shouted as soon as Dean walked in._

_"Ye..Yes, Ss..Sir," Dean stammered. Dean walked hastily into the kitchen. He father was glaring at him and Dean was getting really nervous. _

_"I had a meeting with your teacher today. She seems to think that the reason you're screwing up all the time is because you have a learning disability. What do you think?"_

_"I don't know," Dean said softly._

_"She wants to give you a reading test this Friday. You better do well or it's the last straw, Jonathan Dean. I don't have the time to put up with this anymore. I talked to Pastor Jim about you living with him for the school year..."_

_"Don't send me away, I'll do better, __I promise," Dean interrupted. If he left,__who would look after Sammy?_

_"Don't speak until I ask you something.__ Understand?"_

_"Yes, Sir," Dean said meekly, his eyes staring at some spot on the floor._

_"'I'll do better, I promise,'" John mimicked harshly. "I've __heard that before and yet you don't. God, your mom must be so disappointed in you. Are you stupid or just not trying?" John accused his son._

_"I don't know," Dean repeated, his entire demeanour __radiating that he really believed __he was stupid. "I'll try harder, Dad, I swear, just please don't send me away," he __begged._

_"Well I can't, __because Pastor Jim doesn't want to deal with it either. This test,__or whatever, __better go well Friday, or I will consider something drastic. Maybe that will __get your attention. Now get out of my sight. I am so far behind and if something happens to me or Jefferson on this hunt, it will be your fault," John said dismissing his son._

_"Dad..." Dean tried._

_"No wonder you're a failure, you don't even listen. GO!!!" John said. _

_Dean slumped out of the room, desperately __wishing that someone had pulled the plug on his ventilator after he was born. Everyone would have been better off then. _

_When Dean took the test on Friday, it didn't go well. It had been designed to see if Dean did have a learning disability. If he did, then he wasn't supposed to pass,__but all Dean saw was that he had failed again. After the test, Dean slunk home and this time, his father came and told him to start packing._

_"__**NO, PLEASE DON'T SEND ME AWAY!!!" **_Dean shouted as he woke up.

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Sam stretched out on the bed next to his sleeping brother's. To all outward appearances, Dean seemed like he was sleeping peacefully. Sam couldn't understand why, but he really felt the need to stay with Dean after he lay down. He was trying to read To Kill a Mockingbird, his favourite book, when he heard Dean groan.

Sam frowned and glanced over at Dean. A light sweat had broken out on Dean's forehead and he was starting to stir. It wasn't much at first, just little twitches or jerks. Sam was debating whether or not to wake him when Dean mumbled, "No, don't, I'll do better." Sam knew then, that Dean was having a nightmare. He, himself, had suffered enough of them to know. He wondered what Dean was dreaming about when he rose off his bed to wake his older brother. Dean's next words cause him to freeze in his tracks. At first, the words were so soft that Sam wondered if he was hearing them correctly. "Don't send me away."

_Send him away. What the hell was he talking about? _

Before Sam could react, Dean sat upright, as if he were attached to a spring, and shouted "_**NO, PLEASE DON'T SEND ME AWAY!!!"**_ Sam quickly closed the gap and didn't realized how loud or how panicked he sounded when he shouted, "**DEAN!"**

Sam sat on the bed next to his brother, trying to get him to listen to his voice. Although his eyes were open, Dean didn't seem like he was fully awake yet and he wasn't exactly listening to reason.

Dean began gasping for air, he felt as if iron bands were constricting his chest. The last time he had felt like this was after he'd been electrocuted. Sam looked up when he heard the footsteps of Bobby, his father and his grandfather. All three men spoke at once.

"Sam, what happened?" They all asked in unison.

"Nightmare," Sam explained simply and then turned his attention back to Dean. "Dean, it's okay. Listen to my voice." Sam's worry was growing.

John took charge of the situation. He sat next to Dean, pulled him into his arms and held on as if Dean's life depended on it. "Dean, listen to me son. I've got you. It's okay, I'm here. Deep breaths, son. I'm here."

"What's wrong with his breathing?" Frank asked with concern.

"He's hyperventilating," Bobby explained, all the while wondering what Dean had been dreaming about that could have caused him to have this type of reaction. It seemed that Dean was on the verge of a panic attack and Bobby knew that there was only one thing that would cause it, the only thing Dean was truly afraid of, his family leaving him behind.

John kept repeating his mantra. He was really starting worry when it didn't seem to be working. Sam shifted his position on the bed to make sure he was in full view of his brother and joined his father in reassuring Dean that he was there as well.

About five minutes later, Dean finally started to calm down. He was an adult, not that 15 year old kid anymore, his dad wouldn't send him away. Would he? He had to make sure.

"Please don't send me away, dad, okay?" Dean asked in a voice that made him sound like that 15 year old.

"Never, buddy. You're here to stay," John reassured the boy.

"Promise," Dean demanded desperately.

"Yeah, Dean. I promise," John said, his voice hoarse with emotion.

"You were going to," Dean accused.

John could feel the anger that, all at once, came pouring off Bobby and the confusion from Frank and Sam.

"I was never going to, Dean. I promise."

"Where's Bobby? I want Bobby," Dean stated.

John reacted as if he'd been slapped. He tried not to show how hurt he was that Dean was asking for Bobby.

"I'm here, Dean," Bobby said as stepped into Dean's line of sight.

"You'd take me if he sent me away, right?" Dean asked tentatively.

"In a heartbeat, son," Bobby added his own reassurances.

John tried not to react to the way Bobby addressed his son. Right now, he didn't need to get into it with his friend, although he knew it was coming.

John soothed the hair away from Dean's face, intending to tell him once again that he would never send him away, when he first noticed the heat radiating from Dean. John cursed and placed in hand against Dean's forehead. He could definitely feel a fever.

"He's burning up," John remarked.

"Damnit," Sam said. "Stubborn idiot. He should have said he was sick."

"I don't think that's it, Sam," Bobby said as he removed the bandage and checked the stitches on Dean's forehead. He could see the tell tale signs of infection. "I'm going to get the first aid kit."

"No!! Bobby, don't go," Dean said as he grabbed Bobby's hand.

"Alright, Dean," Bobby said soothingly. "Frank, can you grab the first aid kit, it's in the bathroom under the sink. Oh, and grab me a bottle of water out of the fridge would you?" Bobby said to Frank and then turned back to Dean and placed a hand on his shoulder to let him know he wasn't leaving. He tried to ignore John's glare.

"No problem," Frank said as he retreated from the room. He could feel the escalating tension and was glad for a chance to escape. He quickly found the items Bobby had requested and brought them to Bobby, only because he knew that Dean needed them. He really didn't want to go back into that room.

Bobby pulled the antibiotic cream out of the kit and went to apply it to Dean's forehead, but John reached over and grabbed it from Bobby's hand.

"I got it," John all but growled. "He's _**my **_son. I can take care of him." John applied the cream and took the antibiotic pills that Bobby was holding out and after some coaxing, got Dean to swallow them.

"Dean," John said firmly. "You need to lie back down now. You'll feel better after you sleep."

"Yes, Sir," Dean mumbled and obeyed. His dad had just given him an order. It didn't take long before he was sound asleep again.

"Just what he needs, another order," Bobby mumbled under his breath. Of course, John heard it. The two men glared at each other, each daring the other to say something.

"Dad, Bobby!!" It was all Sam needed to say. They could both read the warning to take whatever argument they were about to have outside.

"Sam, stay here with your brother," Bobby ordered. "Johnny, come with me. I want to have a little chat."

Sam was torn. He wanted to follow his dad and ask him what Dean had been talking about, but he didn't want leave Dean's side. He watched his dad and Bobby walk out of the room and Sam didn't fail to note that John face was a mixture of sadness as well as anger. Sam knew that John was hurt that Dean had asked for Bobby and much like Dean when John was hurt, anger became the dominant emotion. Sam made a decision and it was an easy one. He sat back down on his bed.

"Hey, Grandpa," Sam said.

Frank read Sam's thoughts. "I'll go eavesdrop," he said as he followed Bobby and his son-in-law out of the room.

"Everything's going to be okay, Dean. I promise," Sam said to his sleeping brother.

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As they left the room, Bobby grabbed John and physically hauled him out onto the porch.

"Okay Johnny, spill. What the hell was Dean talking about in there?" Bobby demanded.

"Look, Bobby, it's none of your business. There was a misunderstanding, but we worked it out," John explained tensely.

"If you worked it out, why is he having nightmares?" Bobby accused.

"It's the fever," John reasoned.

"That bullcrap and you know it, John Winchester. Now tell me what happened?"

"Why, so you can fix it? Do you think you're the only one that can?" John said angrily.

"What. Happened. Johnny," Bobby ground out through clenched teeth.

Dean wasn't the only one this trick worked on and John knew that Bobby wasn't going to let it go. He took a deep breath and admitted the truth. "I was reaching my wits end over Dean's schoolwork. I called Pastor Jim and asked if he would take Dean for the school year, to give him some stability. He must have overheard the conversation."

Bobby's own anger grew exponentially with every word John was uttering. His face turning a bright shade of red, as his blood pressure matched his temper. His fists clenched at his side and Bobby found that he had to restrain himself. He really wanted to haul off and hit the man.

_**"YOU DID WHAT? **__**Did you lose whatever sense God gave you? That's the worst thing you could have done!!!!" **_Bobby thundered.

"I didn't do it, did I?" John defended himself, his rage growing because he felt he shouldn't have to. Dean was _**his **_son.

"You know full well that doesn't matter. This is Dean, the knowledge that you even considered it obviously devastated him. Did you even stop to check to see if the boys were anywhere around when you had that conversation with Jim, or did you want him to find out?" Bobby accused.

"How can you ask me that?" John asked, hurt entering his tone.

"You said it yourself, one well placed line ended every confrontation you had with Dean. Was that your way of dealing with Dean's school problem? I mean, if you really wanted Dean to have stability _**you**_ could have just settled down and kept the boys in one school." Bobby forced out as his face twisted in rage, at the thought that there was a possibility that John would deliberately hurt Dean.

"You have no right to accuse me of that, Singer. It was a rash thought and one I would never have followed through on." John's own temper was rising again.

"Sure, it's easy to say that now," Bobby sneered. He was deliberately trying to get a rise out of John. It worked as the vein in John's forehead started pulsing. It worked a little too well.

"What makes it your business anyway? If that's how I chose to deal with Dean, then it was my decision to make."

"You made it my business. I care about your boys and want what's best for them. You're just damn lucky you didn't, Johnny, because if you had sent that boy away, I would have gone and fetched him and you wouldn't have ever gotten him back," Bobby stated.

"Dean's _**my**_ son, Bobby, not _**yours!!" **_John stated coldly.

"I know that."

"Do you?" John snapped.

"I care about Dean like he's my own son, Sam too, but you're his father. I could never replace that."

"And yet you try," John accused. He wanted to hurt Bobby and with his next words he went right for the jugular. "You call him son. You never hesitate to take charge when things need to be fixed. You screwed up your relationship with your own brother and nephews, are you using Dean to replace them?"

John couldn't have hurt Bobby worse than if he'd attacked him physically. John knew that Bobby looked at Sam and Dean's relationship and wished he had it with his own brother. He'd grown to love John and had unofficially adopted him as a younger brother. He had thought John felt the same way. Bobby wanted to hurt John back and said the one thing that would. "You want to know why I act like Dean's father, Johnny, I'll tell you," Bobby stated coldly as he turned and faced John Winchester and said the words that he knew would enrage John like nothing else would have.

"Please enlighten me, master," John said sarcastically. He was already regretting his earlier words, but he found himself unable to back down now.

"Because somebody has to. You never did," Bobby said to John, going for the maximum amount of damage

"_**HOW DARE YOU !!!" **_John shouted loud enough to wake the dead. The last time John had been this mad was when Frank had rejected Dean. Both men reacted and grabbed a fistful of each other's shirt, both daring each other to say one more word, an excuse to let the fists start flying.

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Sam heard the last thing his father shouted and his concern rose when Dean started to stir. Sam bolted off his bed and he was quick to assure his sleeping brother that he was having another nightmare, that two of the three people he loved most in this world were not about to kill each other. Sam decided he'd had enough, he didn't want to leave Dean's side, but something had to be done.

Sam headed for the front door and he noticed that Frank was getting ready to intervene as well. Frank quickly filled Sam in on what he had heard and the two of them headed out the door together. They found the two hunters in an intense standoff.

Sam found himself feeling a sense of deja vu. He remembered being in this position with his dad a few times himself. Dean was usually the one to step between them and break it up though. He was getting a first hand experience of just what Dean had been through and his admiration for his older brother went up another notch.

"Stop it, that's enough," Sam said firmly as he risked life and limb and stepped between the two men, pushing them apart.

"Stay out of this, Sam," both men stated in unison.

"No!!" Both Sam and Frank shouted back.

"You almost woke Dean. I swear, you do that and Bobby, I don't care if it's your house, you're sleeping on the porch with dad Bobby, you get mad at dad because of how he treats Dean and then you go and pull this. How do you think Dean would have reacted to that little display?" Sam shouted. He wanted to have a go at his dad and Bobby himself.

The tension level rose as Sam's temper was added to the mix. Thinking over Sam's words, John and Bobby managed to unclench their fists.

"John, Bobby, please, this is the last thing we need. Dean loves you both equally," Frank said wisely. Both men turned to stare at him. "What? The whole neighbourhood could hear your argument. You all need to calm down or you're going to escalate the situation. There's no need to be jealous of each other."

"I'm not," both John and Bobby said in unison again. Both hunters dropped their gaze to the ground and looked like chastised four year olds because they knew that Frank was right.

"I just met you guys, but even I can tell you would do anything for each other. You remind me so much of the boys and if I didn't know better, I would swear you really were brothers," Frank said. Despite themselves, Frank's statement pleased both John and Bobby.

Sam forced down his own temper and calmly addressed his dad. "Dad, think about what you're saying. Bobby has never once tried to take your place. He's…" Sam trailed off trying to put his thoughts into words.

"He's Dean's safety net," Frank said finishing Sam's thought. "Someone you know will be there no matter what, someone who offers shelter. If that makes sense."

"I'm his father," John repeated wistfully.

"That has nothing to do with it, John," Frank stated. "Mary had her safety net as well. Whenever a situation became too much, Mary would go to Miles."

"Your butler?" Sam asked in surprise.

"Yes. Miles has worked for us since Mary was about 10. He developed a real soft spot for her, much like you did for Dean, Bobby. Margaret didn't approve of many of the things Mary did and whenever she needed someone to talk to, she would go to Miles. He was a neutral party. It hurts though, so I understand what you're going through, John, but remember, Dean thinks he did something to upset you. If you were in his situation, what's the first thing you would have done?"

"Ask for Bobby," John admitted softly. He turned to his friend and thought about all the times that Bobby had opened not just his home, but his heart, to all three Winchesters. He felt so ashamed over the things he had said. Bobby wasn't trying to take his place. "I'm sorry, Bobby, about everything."

"Me too, Johnny, we both said some pretty awful things," Bobby admitted, also looking ashamed at his own behaviour and nervously pulled his ballcap from his head and wrung it between his hands.

"Frank was right about one thing though," John said gruffly. He wanted Bobby to know just how he felt.

"What's that?" Bobby asked.

"Brothers," was John's only explanation as he extended his hand to Bobby.

Bobby grabbed it and pulled John into a hug. "Brothers," he confirmed wholeheartedly.

Please read and review. I would love to know what you think.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

A/N: Another huge thank you to Soar for all her hard work. Any left over mistakes are my own.

Tension hung heavily in the air for the next few days. Bobby and John had made up since their fight, but things were still a little uneasy, they had both said hurtful things that they couldn't take back. They avoided each other at first, wanting to make sure that they kept things calm around Dean.

Fortunately, Dean's infection turned out to be a minor one. A couple of days of rest and some antibiotics and he was up and around. He was also more animated, much like he had been after he first met Frank. It was like a big burden had been lifted off the young man. Frank, Sam, John and Bobby knew that the heart to heart that Dean and John had shared had done wonders. True to form, by the end of the week, Dean had also warmed up to Frank again, and was referring to him as grandpa once more. Taking their cue from Dean, Bobby and John managed to repair their relationship as well.

Frank, himself, was far happier than he had been in a long time. He had Dean back, he had managed to patch things up with his son-in-law, and even Sam was warming to him. He had even enjoyed meeting Bobby and he was glad that Dean had him in his corner. He could have stayed there forever with his family, unfortunately, he knew that he couldn't. He may have been retired, but he still had commitments, he knew that he had to return home soon. John was also talking about getting back on the road.

Frank had one last request that he wanted to make of the Winchesters and it also included Bobby, he just wasn't sure how that request was going to be received, or when would be the best time to broach the subject. He thought back to the phone call he'd had from his wife the day before.

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He had been sitting in Bobby's living room, watching TV, when his cell phone rang. He stiffened when he checked the caller ID. He really didn't need to get into it with his wife right now.

"Hello," he said tentatively.

_"Francis," Margaret greeted. _

"How are things?" he asked politely.

_"You have had your temper tantrum. It is time for you to come home."_

"I am home," Frank said coldly.

_Margaret gave a long suffering sigh. "I knew I should not have let you go to the cemetary that day. Those people are ruining our lives." _

Frank didn't miss the contempt in her voice when she said _people_. "Don't start, Margaret. Those people are your family. If you'd stop looking down your nose at them for once, you would see that they could make our lives better."

_"Francis..." Margaret started._

"DON"T!!" Frank cut her off. "I don't want to hear it. Now is there a particular reason you called?"

_"Your birthday is coming up next week. We have to send out invitations. I wanted__to make sure that you will be at home," Margaret stated._

Frank thought for a moment. He looked around. He could see Sam and Dean arguing good naturedly about something. He could hear Bobby in the kitchen making lunch and he could see his son-in-law with the newspaper, smiling fondly as he watched the boys. An idea began to form in his mind.

"I'll be home," Frank confirmed.

_"I am glad. I'll start sending out invitations."_

"No," Frank said suddenly.

_"Excuse me," Margaret replied._

"Don't send out invitations, I don't want a big party this year. I just want a family dinner," Frank explained.

_"What?" Margaret asked in confusion._

"Tell Miles to prepare a dinner party for five, no, actually, make that six," Frank clarified. He couldn't leave out Bobby. He would just have to make sure that the two of them were not left alone together, he had a feeling the two would mix as well as fire and gasoline.

_"Okay, if that's what you want," Margaret said doubtfully._

"It is," Frank stated firmly.

_"Who should I invite, Conner, Winifred…"_

"No," Frank interrupted once more. She was stubborn enough to be a Winchester. "Besides me and you, I want to invite Sam, Dean, John and their friend Bobby."

_"Excuse me," Margaret said frostily. "What about our friends? They will be insulted if we do not invite them. We will be the laughing stock of the town."_

Frank sighed heavily and rubbed his hand along his brow in frustration. "We can have another party," Frank said trying to placate his wife. "On my birthday, though, I want a small dinner with my family."

_"But Francis," Margaret__said in a voice that was dangerously close to a whine. "We can still invite our friends."_

Frank knew that there was no way Dean would agree to attend a big gathering and he didn't think Sam, John, or Bobby would be to keen on it either. "It's my birthday, now I've told you what I want. John and the boys won't be in town long, we can have a party a couple of days later. You can tell everyone I had to go out of town and was delayed and that's why we're late this year," Frank said trying to find a compromise.

_Margaret frowned at her husband's words, but she was aware from past experience that once Frank made up his mind about something, there was no changing it. "Fine," she conceded huffily._

"Thank you," Frank said dryly. "I'll be home in a few days."

_"Fine," Margaret said icily and hung up the phone._

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"... dogs okay?" Dean asked his grandfather.

Frank glanced up as he heard his eldest grandson speak. What had he said about dogs? "Sorry, Dean. What did you say?" Frank asked.

"I said Bobby's making dinner and he wants to know if hot dogs are okay with you?" Dean repeated patiently.

"Sure, fine," Frank answered. "Dean, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead," Dean said.

"Do you guys have any ghost hunting planned in the next few days?" Frank asked.

Dean paled and stared dumbfounded at his grandfather. Dean realized that he'd heard no scorn in his grandfather's voice, so he was serious. How the hell had he found out about that? That's when Frank realized that Dean didn't know about his and John's talk. No one had told Dean that he knew about the family business.

"Do we what?" Dean tried to cover.

"I'm sorry, I thought that your father told you that he told me everything. It's okay, Dean. To be honest, even though I'm having a hard time with it all, I want to assure you that I _**don't**_ think your father's lying. He felt it best to tell me everything," Frank tried to explain.

"Nnn... no… hhhhu... hunts planned," Dean stammered. He glanced toward the kitchen where Bobby was making dinner. "I, um, I better go see if Bobby needs help." With that, Dean bolted toward the kitchen.

_Francis Jackson, are you __**ever**__ going to learn to think before you speak,__Frank scolded himself._

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Bobby Singer had a passion for crossword puzzles. He had almost as many books of them as he did books on demons. He sat at the table in his kitchen and worked on some as he waited for the hot dogs to boil. He wasn't much of a cook, his pancakes being the exception, but he was much better than John and Sam. Dean wasn't bad, but Bobby was still insisting that he keep his sling on for at least another week and there wasn't much he could do one handed.

"Founder of physics uncertainty principle, 10 letters," Bobby muttered to himself. This one had him stumped. He saw Dean enter the kitchen out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Dean, you know the founder of the uncertainty principle?" Bobby asked way of greeting. When he saw his young friend though, all thoughts of crosswords and hotdogs flew right out of his head as he took in the young man before him. Dean was still pale and it caused the fading bruise on his forehead to stand out in stark contrast.

"Dean, what's wrong?" Bobby asked as he jumped up from the table and helped Dean sit in one of the chairs.

"Did you know that dad told grandpa everything?" Dean asked softly.

"Yes," Bobby replied.

"Why did you let him?" Dean accused.

"I agreed with it," Bobby explained.

"You what?" Dean couldn't believe it.

"I thought it best he knew. No more secrets."

"What if he leaves?" Dean asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

Bobby felt his heart going out to the young man. Would he ever believe that his family wasn't going to abandon him? "Think about it, son, how would you feel if you made up with your grandfather and down the road he found out the truth and left? Your dad felt it best he knew everything up front. It was days ago, Dean. If he was going to leave, don't you think he would have done it by now? He's here to stay, Dean. He loves you and I can't blame him for that." With that, Bobby reached over and hugged the young hunter.

Dean thought about what Bobby had told him. It made sense. "Bobby," Dean said as a token protest when he felt Bobby's arms encircle him, but at the same time, leaning into his friends hug.

"Go round everyone one up would you, I'm hungry," Bobby instructed Dean as he straightened up again.

"Sure and thanks, Bobby," Dean said he exited the kitchen. He paused at the door and looked back over his shoulder. "Heisenberg," he said with a small grin.

Bobby picked up his pencil, shook his head and filled in the clue. He wondered if the kid could explain exactly what it was. _Probably, Bobby thought. Would he understand the explanation, probably not?_

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Dean did what was asked of him and lunch was an enjoyable affair. For once, everyone seemed relaxed. Sam suggested that they all go out and enjoy themselves that evening and go see the new Spiderman movie. This led to the age old argument that had been going on with the Winchesters since Bobby had met them. Everyone had an opinion about which superhero could kick every other superhero's ass. Dean had his money on Batman, while Sam liked Spiderman. John got into the argument by defending the lone ranger. Bobby added his two cents by informing them that they didn't have a chance against Wolverine. Even Frank got into the argument with his opinion on Daredevil.

After lunch, Dean pulled his grandfather aside and explained that he was surprised that Frank knew about their lives and that he understood why John had told him. Frank was just glad that Dean wasn't upset, things had been going so well that he didn't want to ruin them. They all decided that Sam's suggestion was a good one and they all went to the movie that night. They all admitted afterwards that the movie had been good, but Dean had to make one last comment about the Batman movies being much better and the debate began again.

With everybody in such a good mood, Frank decided it was time to broach the subject of his birthday. He made sure to emphasize that the only other person to be there was Margaret. He wasn't surprised when John, Sam and Bobby hesitated, but he was even more surprised when Dean agreed to come. Despite everything, Dean still wanted to get to know his grandmother and this would be a good opportunity. Frank wanted to shake his head in disbelief at his grandson's generous nature. He was beginning to truly understand just how important family was to his eldest grandson.

Bobby was the next to accept. He didn't want Dean getting hurt again and he wanted to be on hand if Frank's wife tried anything. Sam and John were initially leery, but eventually accepted the invitation as well. It would be five against one, how bad could it be?

Things remained peaceful over the next few days as they all made preparations to leave. Bobby contacted an associate to keep an eye on his place while he was gone and they tried to decide who was going to travel in which car. Frank decided that it made more sense for one of others to drive, since they knew the way, but he didn't want to spend another 12 hours squeezed into the tiny back seat of the Ferrari, he immediately claimed a spot in the Impala. Before an argument broke out over who would drive the Ferrari, Dean pointed out reasonably that it was a 12 hour drive. They could divide themselves into two groups in each car and then switch after they stopped for something to eat. The only other person that Dean fully trusted to drive his Impala was his father. The hard part was to decide who would ride with Dean and who would ride with John.

No one was more surprised than Sam himself when he announced that he wanted to ride with his father. He hadn't spent much time with him lately and besides, he liked his father's music a lot more than Dean's. Bobby was grateful for a chance to ride with Dean.

John was touched when his youngest announced his intentions. He had been so focused on Dean lately that he realized he hadn't spent much time with his younger son and he missed him. It was decided that John, Sam and Frank would do the first stretch in the Impala, leaving Dean and Bobby with the Ferrari.

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The day they were to leave dawned crisp and clear. The temperature was neither too hot, nor too cold. It was a perfect day for a long car trip. They packed up the cars and were getting prepared to leave when Bobby got a phone call that he had to take. He told John and the others to go ahead. They had a designated meeting place about half way there, so it didn't matter if they weren't following each other.

Dean was flipping through a magazine, waiting for he elder hunter, when he heard a car pull into the gravel driveway. The noises that were coming from it gave Dean the distinct impression that it was on its last legs. He got up and walked over to the window and looked out. He watched as a young man, about his age, exited the car. He was almost as tall as Sam and had dirty blond hair. He looked vaguely familiar to Dean, but he knew he had never seen him before. Dean continued his surveillance and he saw the young man stop and admire the Ferrari before he continued up the steps and knocked at the door.

Dean trusted his instincts and didn't feel this guy was a physical threat so he answered the knock.

"That yours?" the stranger said in greeting and pointed to the gleaming red sports car.

"No," Dean answered. "My grandfather's."

"Nice," the guy whistled appreciatively.

"Can I help you?" Dean asked.

"I'm looking for my uncle, is he here?" The man asked.

"Bobby?" Dean asked in surprise. Bobby had said that he had almost no contact with his nephews.

"Yeah," the guy said.

"He's on the phone, but he should be out soon," Dean replied. He wasn't really sure what to say.

"Get him," ordered Bobby's nephew. "I'm in a hurry."

Dean just glared at him. There was only one person he took orders from.

"_Hhellllooo," _the stranger said sarcastically. "Are you deaf? I really need to see Uncle Bobby, I'm in a bit of a hurry. I'm telling Uncle Bobby that he should fire you. You don't take orders very well do you?"

"Wouldn't do you much good, but if you want to, more power to you," Dean said with a shrug of his shoulders. He was determined not to let this guy get to him.

"Dean, I have to run down to the salvage yard and check on something, I should be back in about 10 minutes and then we can hit the... Don." Bobby couldn't hide his shock. Seeing his nephew standing in his living room was the last thing he expected.

"Hi Uncle Bobby," Don grinned.

"Um, hi. What are you doing here?" Bobby asked.

"Do I need an excuse to visit my favourite uncle?"

"Considering I haven't seen you in two years, yes," Bobby replied.

"I was in the neighbourhood," Don said with a casual shrug of broad shoulders.

"Try again," Bobby demanded.

"Okay, I'm on my way to meet some friends and my car sounds like it's about to die. I need you to take a look at it."

"I'm a little busy, Don. Dean, if you don't mind, can you have a quick look?"

"Sure," Dean agreed.

"No way. This guy doesn't know how to listen, I suggest you fire him."

Dean and Bobby looked at each other and shared a small smile. "I'll take it under advisement. Dean's the best though. I'll be back in 10," Bobby said to Dean as he walked out of the room.

"Alright, you can look," Don conceded having no other choice. He really needed to get going.

"What seems to be the problem?" Dean asked.

"It started making strange noises," Don explained impatiently.

"When was this?"

"A few hours ago. I figured since I was close to Uncle Bobby's, I would stop by," Don explained.

Dean went up to the hood. He could feel the heat coming off the engine before he even popped the hood. This alerted him to what the potential problem could be. "When was the last time you topped up the oil?" he asked curiously.

"Not sure. I never check those things."

"If I had to guess, I would say there's no oil in the car. You're lucky your engine didn't blow."

"Well put some oil in so I can be on my way," Don said in a tone of exaggerated patience.

"It's not that simple. First of all, there is no way anyone is touching that engine for at least an hour and if you've been driving without oil, you could have damaged the engine, and from the sounds it was making when you drove in, I would guess you did," Dean said confidently. He was in his element around cars.

"You don't know what you're talking about. I'm gonna wait for Uncle Bobby, at least he knows what he's doing. I really think he needs to fire you," Don said trying to intimidate the young man standing before him.

"It would be kind of hard since I don't work for him. I'm just a family friend." Dean refused to be baited. One thing that he was sure of was Bobby's confidence in him around cars. "But if you want to wait for him, go ahead. He'll tell you the same thing."

"You're _that_ Dean," Don said suddenly. In his sporadic visits with his uncle, Bobby had mentioned the young man a numerous times. Don recalled the affection in his Uncle's voice whenever he spoke about him. Don couldn't explain why he felt so jealous about a man he'd never met, it wasn't like he and his uncle were close, or that he had a desire to be close to his uncle, but he felt territorial none the less.

"Bobby mentioned me?" Dean asked, surprised.

"Yeah, never shuts up about you actually. You'd think you were his nephew." Don had meant it as a dig, but Dean didn't see it that way. Don's statement pleased him, that Bobby would think of him that way.

"Bobby's great. You're lucky to have him as an uncle," Dean said affectionately.

"Hey, boys." A voice greeted them. They looked up and saw Bobby walking toward them. "Figure out what was wrong, Dean?" Bobby asked, guessing that he had.

"I think so. The engine was over heated though, so I don't want to touch it."

Bobby frowned and put his hand over the hood. "Good call. You top up the fluids?" Bobby asked his nephew.

"No," Don admitted. "Can't you do something? I'm really in a hurry."

"Not until that engine cools down. I can call a tow truck for you. I'm on my way out of town."

"But Uncle Bobby," Don whined. "I have to meet my friends. Do you have another car I can use?"

"None of them are in working order. Besides, this is going to take at least two or three hours," Bobby explained.

"You don't have to come, Bobby," Dean offered, trying to keep the disappointment from his voice.

Bobby looked at the two young men in front of him. They were both family. Bobby knew, though, that the only reason Don was there was because he needed something. If he didn't, he would have driven right by without so much as a hello. As soon as the car was fixed, Don would take off again without even a thank you. It was never really an option about what he was going to do. Besides, he didn't want Dean facing Margaret alone. He pulled the Ferrari's keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Dean.

"Go lock up the house and start the car," he instructed. "I'll be there in a minute." Dean couldn't keep the smile off his face, Bobby had chosen to join him. Dean left and the elder mechanic turned to his nephew.

"I told you I'm in a hurry," Don tried again. He really needed to get going.

"I am too," Bobby explained.

"I'm family," Don tried.

"So is Dean," Bobby insisted firmly.

"He's nobody," Don said and knew immediately it was the wrong thing to stay when Bobby's eyes narrowed and anger was clearly visible across his face.

"**Do. not. talk. about. what. you. don't. know!!" **Bobby ground out, trying to keep his anger in check. "That young man is very important to me. You and Eric are my family and Dean's taught me the value of that, but that's the only reason I'm not going to tell you not to come around here again. Right now, I have a commitment I have to keep, so I will talk to you later." With that, Bobby turned his back on his nephew and headed toward the Ferrari.

"What about my car? How's it going to get fixed?" Don called to his uncle's back.

Bobby turned and then reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin and flipped it to his nephew. "Here's a quarter, you can call someone who cares."

With that, Bobby walked over to the Ferrari and climbed in, leaving Don standing there, wondering how things had gone so wrong.

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While Dean and Bobby were dealing with the unexpected visitor, Frank, John and Sam were making good progress. After a couple of hours, they decided to take a small break and grab a coffee. This would also give Dean and Bobby a chance to catch up. They were seated in a booth and made some small talk.

"Sam?" Frank asked. "The other day, your father and Bobby were sharing memories with me. Can I ask your favourite one?"

Sam hoped his dad hadn't shared anything too embarrassing. Sam didn't even have to think. "I was about 9 and that was the time that I realized that I have the coolest big brother in the world."

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1992.

Nine year old Sam Winchester loved school. He loved to learn new things and read books. He was also good at it, he always got good grades and he never minded doing tests and assignments. His older brother called him geek boy, but Sam never minded because he knew that Dean said it with affection.

"Class," Ms. Gracin addressed her fourth graders just before the final bell rang. "For your creative writing assignments this week, I want to you write about your heroes. Make sure to do a good job on them because we are also going to do oral reports on the subject of our heroes on Monday. Any questions?"

"Ms. Gracin, can we write about anyone?" Davy Price asked.

"Yes, I can't tell you who your hero is," Ms. Gracin replied with a smile.

"Cool, I'm gonna write about Superman," someone from the back of the class piped up.

"Wonder Woman," a little girl cried.

"Okay, we must remember to raise our hands," Ms. Gracin reminded the class. "Any other questions? No, okay, class dismissed. I'll see you Monday."

Sam wasn't paying attention to what the other kids were saying. He ran his tongue over his newly capped tooth and grinned. He didn't have to think twice about who would be the subject of his essay. He couldn't wait for Monday when he could tell everyone about his big brother and how he saved him from mortal embarrassment.

The weekend seemed to take forever for the nine year old. He practically ran all the way to school on Monday and Dean called after him several times to slow down. The morning seemed like it was practically forever and finally, after lunch, they started their presentations.

"Charlene Abrams, you're first."

A little blond girl with her hair in pig tails delivered her essay on Wonder Woman. When the teacher called on Joey Conner, Sam realized with a small sigh that the teacher was going in alphabetical order, he was used to going last. He just wished everyone would hurry up. He really wanted his turn.

As the presentations went on, Sam began to worry. Everyone was talking about comic book characters. A couple of others talked about baseball, hockey and football players and movie stars. It seemed to Sam that he was the only one who hadn't picked a famous person. Had he misunderstood the assignment?

_Just great,__he thought to himself._ What was he going to do? He could wing it. He really liked Spiderman, even though Dean said he was a wimp, but Spiderman wasn't his hero. Besides, there had already been three reports done on Spiderman. Were the kids going to make fun of him for getting the assignment wrong? If they did that, then Dean was going to go after them and he would be in trouble with their dad for fighting. Sam had wanted to honor his big brother and now he was going to get him in trouble. Some little brother he was. He was almost tempted to tell the teacher that he hadn't done the assignment. Would she believe him?

"Sam Winchester." He heard his name being called.

He picked up his paper and walked to the front of the room as slowly as he could. He turned and faced the class. He took a deep breath and announced the name of his essay in a loud clear voice. Dean _**was **_his hero and he was not saying otherwise.

"My Brother, My Hero by Sam Winchester."

He looked out at his classmates, so far, so good. No one was laughing yet. Ms. Gracin sat up a little straighter as well, after 25 other reports on celebrities, comic book heroes and sports figures, she wanted to hear what Sam had to say about his big brother.

"I know I'm not the only person in the world to have a brother. Lots of people do. I was the lucky one who got the best big brother ever, though. My brother's name is Jonathan Dean Winchester Jr. He was named after our dad. We call him Dean, though. Dad only ever calls him John Jr when he's in trouble. I'm really, really lucky to have my brother though, because my dad told me that Dean almost didn't survive. He was born too early and was in the hospital for a really long time. Dad told me that he was one of the strongest kids he knew and he was right. Dean looks after me and plays games with me. He taught me how to ride a bike and rollerblade. He took me fishing on my birthday. He helps me with my math homework. No one's smarter than Dean when it comes to math, not even my dad. I know 'cause I asked my dad. "Sam paused. He saw that he had the class' complete attention.

"Now you may ask yourself why that makes Dean the best big brother ever and I will tell you. He would do anything for me, even if it meant giving up his most prized thing. My dad got Dean a guitar, he had wanted one for like, forever. Then I got hurt at school and chipped this tooth," Sam said pointing. "It was right before school pictures and I couldn't have my picture taken like that," Sam said and he could hear the class sympathising with him.

"Anyway, the dentist wanted a ton of money to fix my tooth and dad wasn't going to have it until after school picture day, so Dean sold his guitar and gave dad the money and I got my tooth fixed. Not only that, but Dean saved my dad's life. We were out at our cabin when this bear attacked my dad. Dean pushed my dad out of the way and got hurt instead. He had to have an operation. I'm so glad he was okay, though. I don't know what I would do without my big brother. The end."

No matter what happened, Sam was proud of himself for telling everyone about Dean. He handed his paper to the teacher and walked proudly back to his desk. He failed to notice the teacher frown and make a note in her book to get in touch with his father. She had a feeling the big brother had written the essay for his little brother.

Much to Sam's surprise, his classmates told him that they wished they had Dean for a big brother and how lucky Sam was. Courtney Green, a girl in Sam's class who had a crush on Sam's older brother, actually asked Dean if he would be her big brother too.

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"Sam, did you know that your teacher actually called me in for a parent/teacher conference after that essay. She thought you made the whole thing up."

"Are you serious?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"Yup," Frank said. John had told him this story. " Your dad set her straight, though."

"Is that why I was moved to Mr. Donovan's class the following week?" Sam asked. His father had told him it was because Ms. Gracin's class was overfull.

"Yeah, Sam," John admitted.

"Thanks for sticking up for us, dad," Sam said sincerely.

"No problem, kiddo. Hey Frank, did I ever tell you about the time Sam went to the circus?"

"Dad, please don't?" Sam begged.

An evil grin spread across John's face. "Well, he was about six..."

"Dad!!!"

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Dean and Bobby drove along in silence for awhile. Bobby knew what was on Dean's mind and decided to call him on it.

"You've been quiet. Is this about Don?" Bobby asked with touch of worry.

"I wouldn't have minded if you stayed with him. He's your nephew," Dean said.

"Yeah and so are you," Bobby confirmed.

"Thanks, Bobby," Dean said softly.

"Look, son, the only reason Don stopped by was because he needed something, otherwise he wouldn't have given me the time of day. I'm right where I want to be," Bobby said firmly.

"You're sure?" Dean asked.

"Yes, and we aren't going to mention it again. You did nothing, Dean, there was a rift there before I met you and it will never change."

"Thanks, Bobby," Dean repeated.

Bobby decided to change the subject. He wanted to know Dean's favourite memory. Like John's though, Dean's favourite memory was a private one that he didn't want to share, so he told Bobby the story about finding out he was going to be a big brother. In truth, his favourite moment was the first time he could clearly remember his dad saying I'm proud of you, son.

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1984

Five year old Dean Winchester sat in his seat in his kindergarten classroom. He hated school and wanted to go home to his daddy and Sammy. He heard his teacher speaking and he told himself to pay attention so she wouldn't get mad at him again.

"It's almost mother's day so that means we're going to have a mother's day party. For art, I want you to make invitations and take them home to your moms. This Friday, we'll invite them to come to our classroom and you will all have a chance to meet your classmate's moms," Mrs White explained to her class.

The kids talked excitedly, except one. Mrs. White glanced at Dean Winchester. She had never seen a child that still. When she walked over to him and asked if he was okay, he just nodded ever so slightly. He got into these moods sometimes and when he did, it was best to leave him alone. She checked on him again later and saw him doing the assignment. She just shook her head.

Dean couldn't believe his ears when his teacher told the class what to make for art. Stupid teachers didn't know anything. He barely heard his teacher asking if he was okay. How was he going to get an invitation to his mommy? She was in heaven. Pastor Jim had told him that she had a new job as a guardian angel. He hoped she was better than her own guardian angel had been, 'cause that one really sucked. Could Pastor Jim get an invitation to his mommy in heaven? He had said that even though he couldn't see her, she was still around. It was then and there that he decided to make the invitation to his mother and one for his father as well. He knew his daddy missed his mommy like he did and if she was going to be there, then Daddy would want to be there too. He picked up his crayon and did his best to make his letters go the right way. His invitation had to be perfect.

He got home from school that day and gave his dad the invitation that he had made for him. He didn't say anything about his mom though, he wanted that to be a surprise for his dad. A little later in the week, Pastor Jim came to visit and Dean asked the kind man if he would give his mom the invitation. Jim agreed and promised not to tell his dad after Dean made him swear to keep it a secret.

The day of the party arrived and Dean got up and went for breakfast as usual. He saw his dad sitting at the table, trying to get Sammy to eat his breakfast rather than him wearing it.

"Morning, buddy," John greeted his eldest as he wiped Sam's egg off his face.

"Morning, daddy," Dean greeted. "Morning, Sammy. Good shot, you got Daddy right between the eyes," Dean praised his baby brother.

Sammy grinned and John rolled his eyes. "Please don't encourage him, son." Then John's face changed. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

At his father's serious expression, Dean became nervous. "Am I in trouble, Daddy?"

"No kiddo, I'm sorry. I just wanted to know if you wanted to stay home from school today. You, me and Sammy will spend the day together."

"No, daddy!!" Dean cried. He had to go to school. His mom was going to be there.

John was taken aback by Dean's desire to go to school. He normally jumped at any opportunity to miss it. He knew his son was up to something.

"Okay, if you want to go that badly," John conceded.

"You're still coming, right?" Dean asked afraid that his dad had changed his mind.

"'Course I am, buddy." John reassured his son. This was going to be the first mother's day without Mary and if his boy needed him there, then that's where he was going to be. After getting the invitation from Dean, he had called the teacher and explained the situation. Mrs. White was the one who suggested that he keep Dean home, so they could avoid an uncomfortable situation.

At school that day, Dean proudly showed his father his desk and the pictures he had made in art class. John got several curious stares from the other mothers, but he ignored them and concentrated on Dean. Once class started, Mrs. White went up and down the rows of desks one by one, asking the students to bring their mothers to the front of the class and introduce them.

When Mrs White called on the little girl who sat in front of him and then the little boy that sat behind him, Dean glanced toward his father. Daddy looked mad. Dean raised his hand.

"Mrs. White, can I have my turn now?" Dean asked calmly.

"Go ahead," she said stiffly with a reluctance that Dean was oblivious to.

Dean made a motion for his dad to stay put. He walked to the front of the classroom and turned and faced his classmates. He wanted to cry and run into Daddy's arms, but he had to tell people about his mom. She was there. He couldn't disappoint her. He had to be a big boy. He held up the photograph he had swiped off Daddy's nightstand that morning. It was a picture of his mom and dad.

"This is a picture of my mom," he announced. "I wanted you to see her. She was a great mom. She sang songs and tucked me into bed. She even stayed with me when I had to be in the hospital or have tests. She gave me cookies and told stories and took me to the park. She even gave me a baby brother. Sammy's the best little bother ever. There's a reason she can't be here today, though. She has a real important job. She watches over me, and daddy, and baby Sammy and other families and keeps them safe." Dean stopped for a moment as his voice started to waver. He took a deep breath, steeled himself and continued. "She's a guardian angel up in heaven. I made an invitation for my daddy and one for my mom. I gave mommy's to daddy's friend, Pastor Jim, and asked if he could get it up to Mommy in heaven. He said he would. So even though you can't see her, I know she's here keeping us all safe, just like angels do. I, ah, I love you, mom." Dean finished and lost the battle with his tears. He ran directly into his dad's arms. What he didn't see was that there wasn't a dry eye in the room, including John and Mrs. White.

He buried his head in his dad's shoulder, seeking the comfort he always found there. He felt his dad lift him up and carry him out of the classroom. His dad didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry, daddy," Dean said. He had promised himself he wasn't going to cry.

"What on earth for?" John asked in confusion.

"I didn't mean to cry. I wanted to be brave for mommy," Dean said.

John just hugged his son close. "It's okay, buddy. I think mommy would understand. I bet she cried a bit too."

"Did I do a good job, Daddy, telling everyone about mommy?" Dean asked, fearful that he had let his mom down.

"Yes Dean. You did an excellent job. I couldn't have done better myself. Mommy would be so proud of you for being so brave," John said sincerely. "Can I ask why you wanted me here?"

"'Cause I knew mommy was gonna be here. I figured you'd want to be with her too."

""Thanks, buddy," John said gruffly. "Let's finish the party and you can play hooky this afternoon. We'll get Sammy from Pastor Jim's and go for ice cream."

"Chocolate chip?"

"Chocolate chip," John confirmed. "Double scoop, what do you say?"

"Let's go, daddy."

John pulled his son into another hug. "You know what, Dean? I'm proud of you, son."

Dean's face lit up like Christmas tree.

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It was a long drive and the two groups met up and switched cars and completed the journey to Frank's house. Like all the Winchester's, Bobby was in awe of the house and the grounds. As they pulled up, each was wondering what would happen next.

TBC

A/N: I give up. I couldn't resist adding the two flashbacks at the end of the chapter. I figured since you knew Bobby's and John's, I would add Sam and Dean's. I know that Dean's memory is not new. I mentioned it in my first story, but I figured it was a little different since it's told from Dean's perspective rather than John's. I decided to add the scene with Bobby's nephew because I figured it would do Dean some good to see someone choose to be with him. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please read and review and let me know.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

A/N: I tried to make this chapter a little lighter and add some humor. Also thanks to Soar for the beta, any left over mistakes are completely my own.

A few days earlier…

Margaret hung up the phone after speaking with her husband, with a long suffering sigh. The man did not know what he wanted she decided. He hadn't been himself since he had gone to the cemetary that day. It was bad enough that he had taken off to sulk, but to shun their friends was just unforgivable. They were all expecting to be invited to Frank and Margaret's party, the one they always gave when one of them had their birthday. Margaret did have to admit to herself that she was sort of relieved that they weren't going to have to expose their friends to those people, though. She was all set to follow her husband's wishes and then the phone rang.

Margaret was in the den when Miles informed her that Nathan Keeping was on the phone.

"Nathan, how nice to hear from you. How are you?" Margaret greeted her friend as she picked up the phone.

"_I'm fine,__Margaret. Thank you for asking. I was trying to get a hold of Frank, we need to discuss details for the next fundraiser," Nathan said._

"He had to go out of town, but he should be back very shortly. I will let him know to get in touch with you," Margaret covered.

_"Thank you. Oh Margaret, __I'm glad I did get a hold of you. I want to let you know that I'll be able to make Frank's party. I made sure to get the day off," Nathan said._

Margaret stiffened. What was she going to do? She couldn't tell Nathan that he wasn't invited. It was a small circle in which the Jackson's operated, word was bound to get out that Frank was in town. She made a spur of the moment decision, Frank would thank her for it later. "That is good to hear, Nathan. I hope that Martha can make it as well," Margaret said as she named Nathan's wife. "Although, I do have to warn you that Frank wants to invite those people." Margaret made her disdain very clear with by the tone of her voice.

_"Do you mean John Winchester and his sons?" Nathan asked__as an idea began to form in his mind. _

_"_Yes," Margaret said.

"_That's great._"

"I beg your pardon," Margaret said in disbelief.

_"I'm presenting a paper next month on the improvements in neonatal medicine. Dean would make a fascinating__case study for my presentation. I would really like to interview him," Nathan explained._

Margaret was not sure what to say to that. She couldn't deny Nathan though. "I am sure that he will be thrilled that you want to include him in your work. I will tell Frank to get in touch and I am looking forward to seeing you and Martha at the party."

_"Great. Take care, Margaret. Goodbye." Nathan said._

"Goodbye." Margaret hung up the phone and pressed the intercom to summon Miles. She had a party to plan.

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The drive to Kansas was uneventful, except for an argument between John and Sam over who got to drive the Ferrari first, Sam insisting that he should, because he hadn't had a turn yet. Dean dropped Frank off at home and said that they would be back at 8 for the party, then he met up with Sam and his dad, they were planning to go to the mall. When they had stopped to switch cars, they had all decided that they were going to wear superhero ties, but Dean was the only one that had one. They also promised to look for one for Frank.

Frank walked into his home and was greeted by Miles.

"Good afternoon, Sir," Miles greeted his employer and friend.

"Good afternoon, Miles. Is everything ready for tonight?" he asked.

"Maybe you should check for yourself," Miles cautioned.

An uneasy feeling descended upon Frank. Miles had a way of telling him that all was not well and this seemed to be one of those times. He bolted for the dining room, but was brought up short by what he saw before him.

The dining room was elegantly set up for a fancy dinner party. The crystal was sparkling, the tablecloth was neatly pressed, not a wrinkle or a bump anywhere. The napkins were neatly folded and the silverware was gleaming. It would have impressed even the strictest critic. The problem was that the table was set for 16, not 6. Frank was going to kill his wife, and then John was going to kill him.

"Get my wife," Frank said. He voice was calm, but it was hard to miss the anger that was simmering just beneath the surface.

Five minutes later Margaret appeared. "You wanted to see me, Francis?"

"What's this?" he asked as he swept his hand and pointed to the dining room.

"It is for dinner tonight," Margaret said simply as if she was speaking to a child.

"I know what it's for, but I specifically said 6, Margaret, not sixteen. You knew I wanted a quiet family dinner."

"I could not snub our friends, Francis. They would have been so upset."

"No, you would have been. You can't pass up an opportunity to show off," Frank accused.

"I will not be talked to that way in my own home, Francis," Margaret said.

"I'm not getting into this with you. It's my birthday. I should just call everyone and tell them it's cancelled," Frank said.

"You will do no such thing," Margaret informed her husband haughtily.

"Then maybe I'll just go out with our family to the local Pizza Hut and let you have all this," Frank threatened.

"I went to a lot of trouble to put this together for you..."

"No, you went to a lot of trouble to put this together for you," Frank interrupted. "Never mind, we're just going to go around in circles. I have to call John and give him a head's up."

"You did tell them this was a formal affair, did you not?" Margaret inquired.

"Yes, they will show up wearing jacket's and ties," Frank informed his wife. "Which reminds me, I'll go along with all this, but you have to promise to be civil to John, Sam, Dean and Bobby. They are _**my **_guests."

"I will as long as they do not embarrass me," Margaret countered.

Frank just sighed in frustration. The woman was never going to change. Frank excused himself to go call his son-in-law. To say that John was not happy was an understatement. Frank told him that he would be more than willing to blow it off for dinner at Pizza Hut and John said that he would get back to him, after he talked to everyone. John called back a few minutes later and informed Frank that although they weren't happy, they would be there. John said that Dean hadn't wanted him to miss his birthday party.

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Sam Winchester walked up and down the aisles of the novelty shop they were currently shopping in. They were searching for a Lone Ranger tie. They had managed to find one with Daredevil for Frank, a Spiderman tie for him, and a Wolverine tie for Bobby, but the lone ranger was proving very elusive.

Sam was not a happy man at the moment. The vote to attend the party had not been unanimous and Sam was dead set against it. He just hadn't wanted to get into heated argument with his dad in public. Margaret didn't want them there, she thought that they were an embarrassment. With that, an idea began to take shape in his brain and a truly evil grin spread across his face. He needed a co-conspirator and spotted Bobby and John in the next aisle. He could see Dean a few aisles over, looking at itching powder and Sam made a mental note to check his underwear for the next several days.

Sam approached his dad and Bobby and laid out his plan. Bobby and John were all for it and John really had to work to keep from laughing. Then Sam walked off to go make sure that Dean hadn't found anything else to torture him with.

"You know what, Bobby, all of a sudden I can't wait for tonight. This party just got a whole lot more interesting," John said.

"I couldn't agree more. Sam's plan is just brilliant," Bobby agreed.

"Come on, we better get going. I want to find a motel and get showered," John said.

"We didn't find a Lone Ranger tie," Bobby protested.

John held up a tie that had a picture of James Dean on it. "This is the closest I can find to my true hero," John stated as he walked toward the cash register.

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The Winchesters and Bobby drove to the local Super8 Motel. Luckily, they had two vacancies left. In the interest of maintaining peace, Bobby and Sam shared a room, and Dean and John shared a room. Bobby was glad to be alone with Sam. It gave him a chance to put the final touches to their plan. They were both a little worried at how Dean would react, but they both came to the conclusion he would be okay eventually. Margaret deserved everything she had coming.

_Knock Knock._

"Get that would you, Sam," Bobby asked, calling from the bathroom. "It's probably Dean."

Sam opened the door to reveal his brother. "You guys ready?" he asked.

"Just about," Sam said as he put his jacket on and glanced at his brother. Dean always looked so uncomfortable in a suit. "Come here a sec, Dean."

"What?" Dean asked as he stepped up to his brother.

Sam reached out and did up the top button on Dean's shirt and adjusted his tie.

"_**Saaammm," **_Dean said in an exasperated tone.

"What?" Sam asked in mock surprise. "I'm guessing that Tabbi's going to be there tonight. I want you to look your best."

"Do not even go there. That is so not funny," Dean growled.

"Maybe I should ask our grandmother to make sure you're seated next to her."

"Maybe I should ask you if you like breathing?" Dean countered.

"Come on, Dean, level with me, are you gonna kiss her," Sam asked, ignoring Dean's threat.

Dean pulled out his cell phone and started to dial. "What are you doing?" Sam asked cautiously.

"Calling our grandmother, I want to make this a double date. I want to make sure that Frannie will be there for her Sammy," Dean teased.

"Give me the phone, Dean," Sam stated firmly as he remembered Tabbi's friend from the bar with a shudder.

"No."

"What you going to do, Dean? Hold it over my head? Better get a ladder," Sam said as he made a grab for it. Dean managed to step aside to avoid Sam, but he backed right into Bobby, who grabbed the phone.

"Enough," Bobby tried to scold them, but the big grin on his face ruined the effort. He loved seeing the boys act like, well, like boys. "Let's go. Your daddy will wonder what's keeping us. You both look great by the way." _Any girl would be lucky to have them, Bobby thought._

"I look like an accountant," Dean complained.

"Well, Dean," Sam started. "Bobby is always threatening to make you his full time bookkeeper."

Dean opened his mouth to retaliate, but before he could speak, Bobby said warily, "Just get in the damn car."

"Gee, he's cranky," Sam remarked to Dean with a grin as they walked out the door. Bobby just shook his head.

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The drive to the Jackson house was made in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Bobby and Sam were thinking about the look on Margaret's face when they got through with her. Dean was worried about making a good impression on his grandmother. John was worried about Margaret being around Dean. He had been so upbeat these last few days and John didn't want anything to change that.

Frank had asked them to come a little early so that they could get the introductions out of the way. Margaret entered the room and stopped short as she took in the attire of the five men before her. This could not be happening. Nobody missed the fact that she regarded Bobby as something one would wipe off the bottom of their shoes and John and his sons as little better.

"Really, Francis," Margaret said in a snobby tone. "What will our friends think?"

"I don't care, Margaret. This is a dinner party, not some black tie affair. We need to relax and have some fun for a change," Frank said.

"Dean's tie is black, grandma," Sam pointed out helpfully.

Margaret grimaced at the address, but decided it was best to ignore it. This couldn't be happening, but she had promised to remain civil and she didn't go back on her word. "Fine, if you insist on this childish display, there is nothing I can do to change this."

"I insist," Frank said firmly.

Margaret knew that there was no point in addressing it any more. She had more important things to worry about. "You there," Margaret said addressing Bobby. "Have you been to a dinner party before?"

"Sure have," Bobby said.

"I trust you know how to behave in the presence of my guests," Margaret said scornfully.

"MARGARET!!!" Frank yelled to his wife. "Come with me now, or I will call this whole thing off,"

"Very well. Our guests should be arriving shortly. Miles will give you all instructions on the proper etiquette at the dinner table," Margaret said as she walked out the door and followed her husband, leaving the stunned group behind.

Dean walked away, he needed to think. John went after him. Sam and Bobby looked at each other and by unspoken agreement, decided to put their plan into full effect. Bobby asked Miles to point him to the washroom.

"Make sure to tell your employer that I'm housebroken," Bobby called to Miles over his shoulder as he started out for the bathroom. Miles grinned. He might just do that.

"Dad, maybe this was a mistake. She doesn't want us here, does she?" Dean asked quietly.

John looked toward his eldest. The fact that Dean looked angry and not upset surprised John. "Want to tell me what's going on in that head of yours, son?" John asked gently.

"She didn't have to treat Bobby that way. She doesn't even know him. Bobby's a great guy, dad," Dean said. Why did he care so much about what this woman thought?

John shook his head warily. Someone could rake Dean over the coals and he would think that he deserved every bit of it, yet if you hurt someone he cared about, John would feel safer with a horde of angry demons. "Son, I want to say this and I want you to listen. You're right about Bobby, but don't worry about him. Bobby can take care of himself, against demons, poltergeists and snobs. Margaret is going to look down on you because you're my son, same with Sam and Bobby because he's my friend. Don't let her get you down, son, okay. It's your grandfather's birthday. He wants you here and that's all that matters. Got it?" John asked.

"Yeah, dad, I got it and thanks," Dean said. "I better go find Bobby."

"Bobby's, um, ah, Bobby's a little busy right now," John said quickly.

"Dad, what are you guys planning?" Dean said casting a suspicious look at his father.

John acted shocked. "I can honestly say that I didn't plan anything."

"Why doesn't that make me feel better?" Dean asked.

John didn't answer. He just grinned. That old bat was getting everything that was coming to her.

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It wasn't long after that before the other guest began to arrive and Frank and Margaret rejoined them. Dean did his best to steer clear of Tabitha, who was indeed there, and stuck close to his brother's side.

"Excuse me," a man said as he made his way over to Dean.

"Yes," Dean said as he regarded the man. He was taller than Sam and just as muscular as his dad was. He looked like he could snap a phone pole in half.

"You're Dean, right?" the mountain said.

Dean was tempted to say no, he is, and point to Sam, but he didn't want his baby brother to get his ass whipped. "Ah, yes," he finally admitted.

Dean, all of a sudden, found himself being squeezed tight by the giant. The man finally let go and Dean felt relief as his lungs flooded with oxygen.

"Thanks," was all the man said.

"Um, you're welcome, and please don't take this the wrong way, but can I ask what for?" Dean asked, scratching the back of his neck in confusion and embarrassment.

"I'm Adam Stanwick," he said. The name sounded familiar to Dean but he couldn't place it. "Andrea Stanwick is my wife."

"Oh," Dean said as recognition dawned. "Your wife used to work for Grandpa. What are you thanking me for?" Dean asked.

"I'm thanking you for Rachel. She told me that if I ran into you I had to do that."

"How is your daughter?" Dean questioned fondly.

"She's doing much better. I don't know what you said to her, but she seems to have gained some confidence. She's even going to her first dance. It's a sock hop that her school is having in two weeks."

"I did nothing," Dean insisted.

"Your nothing made all the difference," Adam countered.

Dean never felt like he deserved any credit and he always started to get uncomfortable whenever anyone sung his praises, so he managed to politely excuse himself and walked away.

"I'm sorry, um," Adam said as he looked at Dean's brother.

"Sam," he supplied. "I'm Dean's brother."

"I didn't mean to make him uncomfortable. I just wanted him to know I was grateful."

"Don't worry about it," Sam said.

"Did your grandfather tell you what he did for my Rachel?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, Grandpa told me about it."

"He was great to do that for Rachel and I just wanted him to know how thankful I am," Adam said.

"I'm sure he knows that," Sam acknowledged with a gentle smile. _Dean is a great guy, I just wish he would start to believe it, Sam thought._

Adam took his leave a few minutes later and rejoined his wife. Sam looked over and saw Margaret was surrounded by Conner, his wife, Winifred, their son Jeffery, and Jeffery's wife Sophia. Sam grinned as he spotted Bobby walking toward the living room. It was show time.

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Nathan Keeping had been watching Dean Winchester since he had arrived. He wanted to get him alone and let him know about the paper he was writing. He was sure that Dean would be grateful that he had chosen to include him and he finally saw his opening when Dean wandered away from Sam.

"Hello, Dean Winchester, right?" Nathan greeted him.

"Um, yes and you are?" Dean asked as he felt his defenses rise.

"I'm Dr. Nathan Keeping, I delivered you," he said and stopped.

If Dean had to guess, it almost seemed like this guy expected Dean to thank him. "And," Dean prompted him as he looked around for an escape route.

"I was your doctor after you were born," Dr. Keeping said.

"I know that," Dean said.

"Your dad told me you got into MIT. Good school. I have never understood Ampere's law. Could you explain it to me?" Nathan asked.

Dean looked at the doctor like he was crazy. What the hell was he talking about? Why would he be asking about physics equations?

"What about the Biot-Savart Law, can you explain that?" Nathan asked when Dean didn't say anything. Maybe Frank had bought his grandson's way in, Nathan began to think.

All at once, Dean clued into what this guy was up to. This doctor was testing him as if he expected that Dean was mentally challenged. Dean glared at his old doctor "You know what? Mom was right," Dean stated angrily. "You are an ass."

"I see you have your mother's temper. You shouldn't talk to me that way, after all, I saved your life," Nathan said arrogantly.

If looks could kill, Nathan Keeping would have been six feet under. Dean narrowed his eyes at the doctor and said in a deadly calm voice, "No, you're the one that wanted to end it. Remember? You're the one that told mom to pull the plug. I'm alive because my mom never gave up on me, it was her strength that saved me, not you. And if you can't live without knowing what Ampere's law and the Biot-Savart law is, let me tell you." With that, Dean thoroughly explained each one. He was about to throw in a few more for good measure when a commotion over by his grandmother caught his attention.

Nathan knew that he had lost any chance of having Dean included in his study. He was about to mention it anyway when the commotion caught his interest as well.

Sam had wondered over to where his grandmother was talking to her friends.

"Hey, grandma," Sam said.

"Hello, Samuel," Margaret said stiffly. She really hoped that he wasn't going to do anything to embarrass her.

Sam knew what his grandmother was hoping, that he wouldn't embarrass her. _Famous last words he thought. _

"Sammy, Grandma Maggie," Sam said in his best imitation of a three year old's wine. "I told you, you're supposed to call me Sammy." He turned to the Butlers and announced brightly, "I'm Samuel Winchester, but please call me Sammy. My brother Dean told me all about you guys. Can I call you Winnie?" He addressed Margaret's friend.

"No," she stated coldly.

"Ah well," Sam said and shrugged. "You can still call me Sammy if you want."

"I, um, I think you're getting a little old for that don't you, Samuel?" Margaret stammered.

Sam threw his arms around his grandmother and pulled her into a giant bear hug. "That's what I love about you, Grandma Maggie, you're such a kidder. Thanks soooo much for inviting us tonight," Sam said in an exaggerated tone.

The Butlers looked shocked. If there was one thing that everyone knew about Margaret Jackson, it was that you never shortened her name. It was Margaret, pure and simple.

Margaret was blushing furiously. She was going to kill her husband. She was never going to live this down. Then she turned and saw that other man enter the room and she decided that leaving town would be her best option.

Bobby had used his time in the washroom to change. He had discarded his suit jacket and white shirt. He now sported a torn, grease stained t-shirt. Sam recognized it as one that Bobby wore while working in the salvage yard. He had somehow managed to get his tattered grease stained ball cap and was wearing it. He still had his tie on, but it hung loose around his neck over his t-shirt. Sam and Bobby's plan had been a simple one. If Margaret had thought they were going to embarrass her, then that was exactly what they were going to do. If she thought that Bobby was an uneducated, backwoods bumpkin then that was exactly how he planned to act. He sauntered up to Margaret.

"Hey there, Ms. Maggie, I wanted to thank you for invitin' me to this here shindig. Sure 'ppreciate it," Bobby said in an exaggerated accent.

Frank, John and Ian, who was talking to them, became hysterical with laughter. Even Dean looked amused. He wanted to feel sorry for his grandmother because he had a feeling this was just the tip of the iceberg, but he was having trouble mustering up any sympathy for her. He was still mad at the way she had treated Bobby.

Luckily, before too much more happened, Miles entered and announced that dinner was served. However, even he was trying to control himself.

They all entered the dining room.

"Wow," Bobby exclaimed excitedly. "Real plates and glasses. I think I done moved up in the world."

Margaret turned purple. This night couldn't get any worse.

"Hey, Grandma Maggie, do we have more than one fork in case we drop one?" Sam asked innocently. Margaret ignored him and this got Dean's ire up even more. No one ignored his brother. He found himself wanting to join in with Bobby and Sam, and so did John. He couldn't let Sam and Bobby have all the fun.

"Look, dad," Dean said. "Not only do we have real plates, but we have cloth napkins too," Dean said as if was the first time he had ever seen them.

"Cool," John said. Sam and Bobby, Dean and John, as if they had practiced, all picked up their napkins in unison, flicked them open and tucked them under them into their shirts under their chins. Margaret decided she had been wrong, this night could get decidedly worse.

This continued all through dinner. The Winchesters and Bobby broke every rule of etiquette that existed. When Miles came around with champagne, Bobby asked for a can of beer. Having no choice but to comply, as Margaret had instructed him to fulfil the guest's every wish, he did so. When he was done, Bobby let out a loud belch and crushed the can on his head. Margaret wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole.

Then, just as the meal began to draw to a close, Martha Keeping, who was a college philosophy professor, was talking to Sophia Butler about her upcoming lecture on Plato. Bobby, who had been acting like he couldn't add 2 plus 2, turned and delivered an in depth analysis on the subject. Margaret wished she'd never been born.

As they were all leaving the dining room, Bobby walked up to Margaret, who was sitting at the table, not moving. "Mess with my boy again and this will seem like a day at Disneyworld," Bobby threatened and Margaret flinched at the repressed violence in the man's eyes.

They all adjourned to the living room, where everyone except Ian and Frank were steering clear of the Winchesters. Ian had never laughed so hard in his life. He had long hoped that he would live to see the day that someone put Margaret in her place.

Like Dean, Sam took to Ian immediately. "Did you see the look on her face when Bobby crushed that beer can on his head?" Sam asked with a snicker.

"How about when Dean picked up his soup bowl and started to slurp it? I wish I had thought of it," Ian said. "This is the most fun I have ever had. Will you guys come to my party next week?"

"It was..." Sam stopped suddenly when a quick flash of pain ran though his head.

"Sam, you alright?" Dean asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fi..." Sam started to say and again stopped short when he saw a flash of white at the edge of his vision. _Oh God, please, not now. Sam thought. _Pain flared and Sam went to his knees and wrapped his arms around his head.

"Oh, God, it hurts..."

TBC

Okay not totally light, it is me after all.

Please read and review and let me know what you thought about this chapter.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

Spoiler: This chapter contains a spoiler for All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2 and Simon Says.

A big thank you to Soar for all her hard beta work. Any left over mistakes are completely mine.

Dean, John and Bobby saw Sam go down with what they knew was a vision. All thoughts of his grandfather, grandmother and anyone else that was at his grandfather's birthday flew right out of Dean's head. The only thing that mattered was Sammy.

"SAMMY," Dean cried as he wrapped his arms around his brother. "I got you, Sammy," he said gently, over and over. He knew that there was nothing he could do for his little brother except be there for him.

Bobby and John reacted as well and quickly closed ranks on Sam as he was gripped in his vision.

_Flash_

_Sam could see a dark,__mysterious figure walk stealthily__down a long hallway. Sam could tell that wherever he was, the owners had money. He recognized a lot of expensive art on the walls. Despite the numerous doorways,__the demon seemed to know exactly where he was going. He halted before one particular door,__opened it__and crept inside. _

_Flash_

_Sam was now inside the bedroom. Despite the opulence of the hallway,__this bedroom looked very homey. There were pink flowered sheets on a four poster,__canopy bed that matched perfectly with the pastel walls. There were several teddy bears resting against the pillows,__waiting for the owner to come and snuggle with them after a hard day. There were three James Dean posters, one from each of his movies, on one wall. On the dresser, it looked like there were__several family photos,__but Sam couldn't__make them out because there was a man standing in front, looking at them. The man looked familiar,__but Sam couldn't__quite place him. _

_Flash_

_Fire. Hot, burning fire. A heart stopping scream. Sam could feel the heat of the flames as his eyes were drawn toward the ceiling. The man, still__unidentifiable, was pinned there, consumed by the flames that had taken Sam's mother so long ago. Sam stood rooted to the spot, his heart pounding. Every instinct was__telling him that he knew this man,__but it just wouldn't come to him. Suddenly,__a second scream filled the air, a woman this time. Sam didn't have to be there to know that another fire was breaking out. _

"Uhhh, my head," Sam screamed again as the images pounded his brain.

"Sammy, we're here," John said, offering what small comfort he could.

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Margaret was still sitting at the dining room table when she heard the commotion from the living room.

_What now, she thought bitterly. Her life was already ruined. She had no doubt in her mind that she was going to be the laughing stock of the entire social community. _

Deciding that she had had enough, she got to her feet and stalked toward the living room. It was time to put a stop to all this nonsense. Maybe she could save a little face by throwing those people out of her house. When she saw the scene in the living room unfolding before her, she became outraged. One of them was faking some kind of attack, the possibility that it could be real never even crossed her mind.

Most of the guests in the living room were standing around dumbfounded, not knowing what, if anything, they should do or say. She could see Ian talking to that Bobby person and John and Dean were huddled over the younger one, Sam.

_**"Okay, that is enough," she snapped loudly. "It is bad enough that you behave like animals in my home,**__**but I will not put up with this. Now stop this nonsense and get up."**_ She reached for Sam, intending to pull him up off the floor like she had done with Mary when she had found her daughter on the floor in the same way.

Wrong move.

Her intentions were clear to everyone in the room, but the minute she touched Sam, Dean sprang up like he had been attached to a spring, anger pouring out of every ounce of his body. You could do whatever you wanted to him, but no onecame near his little brother. _**NO ONE!!!!**_

**"**_**DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM," Dean yelled. **_

Margaret didn't need to be told twice. She stepped back. The pure venom in Dean's voice caused everyone else in the room to follow that advice as well. No one moved, with one exception.

"Everyone," Bobby said addressing the crowd and trying to control the situation. "It's going to be okay, Sam suffers from migraines," he said trying to find a believable explanation. "They're intense and come on without warning. He'll be okay. Frank, is there a room where he can lie down?"

"Uh, sure, um, hold on," Frank said coming out of his stupor. He remembered John telling him about Sam's visions. He had said that they were accompanied by intense pain and he wondered if that was what was really happening. He motioned for the group to follow him when something happened that no one expected.

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Dr. Nathan Keeping was talking with his wife and the Butler's about the disgusting display that had happened at the dinner table. In the mind of the brilliant, but arrogant, doctor, he had convinced himself that he hadn't wanted Dean in his study in the first place and was mentioning how glad he was that he had made that decision. Then he saw Mary's youngest grab his head and go down. He reacted instantly, he was a doctor after all.

Nathan was an obstetrician by practice, but one day, Margaret had come to him with and asked him to look at her daughter as a personal favour. The day after Mary had turned 22, she had been visiting her parents when she had suddenly dropped to the floor with an intense headache. Nathan, of course, agreed. He gave Mary a complete physical, but could find nothing wrong, so he had chalked it up to stress, after all, Mary was getting married and trying to finish up college. He gave Margaret some sedatives and showed her how to inject them. If it should happen again, Mary could sleep off the pain.

It seemed that Mary's youngest suffered in the same way that his mother had. Being first and foremost a doctor, his bag of medical supplies was never far from his side. He retrieved it quickly and filled a syringe. He then boldly walked up to the little group huddled on the floor. Sam had been gripped with another wave of pain and Dean and John were so focused on him that they didn't notice the doctor come up and before anyone could react, he stuck the syringe right through Sam's clothes and into his arm. Both John and Dean felt Sam go limp in their arms as they felt him succumb to the effects of the medication.

Bobby reacted instantly because he knew the doctor was about to be killed. As soon as Dean felt that his father had a firm grip on Sam, all this attention turned to the doctor. He jumped up and grabbed two fistfuls of the doctor's shirt.

"You ass," he said in a voice that was calm, but in a way, was far more intimidating than his earlier scream. "I told you that nobody touches my brother."

"Dean, easy," Bobby said as he stepped between the two men and forced Dean to back off. Not an easy task when Dean was as angry as he was.

"Back off, Bobby," Dean snapped. He had to teach this guy a lesson.

"You're not thinking clearly, go back to Sam."

"Bobby," Dean said in a warning tone.

Bobby hated to do this. He knew that Dean was beating himself up for letting this ass get close enough to his brother to sedate him. However, it was the only way to get Dean to back off. "Sam needs you, Dean," he said gently.

Despite himself, Nathan was captivated at the change that came over Dean with those four words. Dean softened instantly and he returned to his little brother's side. He knelt beside his sleeping brother and gathered him in his arms, talking softly to him. He helped his father pick up Sam and followed his grandfather out of the room.

"That boy needs to learn to control his temper. He should be put on medication," Nathan said arrogantly, as if he had done nothing wrong.

"Excuse me?" Bobby said.

"I said that boy needs to learn to control his temper. He should be put on medication," Nathan repeated slowly and deliberately, as if Bobby was as stupid as he had pretended to be at dinner.

"Repeat that one more time," Bobby said, his temper rising.

Not seeing the change coming over Bobby, Nathan repeated his phrase one more time. This time, it was Bobby who grabbed him. "I only stepped between you and Dean because I don't want my boy charged with murder. Say another negative word about him and I'm going to lock you in a room with Dean, are we clear?" Bobby said imitating Nathan's earlier way of speaking.

Nathan swallowed thickly. "Uh, yeah, we're clear," he said admitting defeat. Bobby let the doctor go and left to find his family.

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Frank led them into one of the spare bedrooms. They laid the sleeping Sam onto the bed and Dean sat beside him. John stood behind them, as if keeping watch over them both.

"John, what just happened?" Frank demanded.

"Sam had a vision," John answered warily.

"He really sees visions of people about to die?" Frank questioned. It was one thing hearing about it, but to actually see it was another.

"If that idiot had left well enough alone…" Dean piped in bitterly. "Sammy would be fine now."

"I'm sure that he'll be fine when he wakes up, Dean," Frank added, trying to comfort his grandson.

"I know that, but now we have a bigger problem," Dean added.

"What's that?" Frank asked curiously.

"What did Sam see? Sam can't control his visions. There's no way to know if what he saw will happen in two hours or two days. If he can't tell us, someone is going to die," John said seriously.

"Is there anything we can do?" Frank asked.

"How long is he going to be out? Do you know what Nathan gave him?" John asked.

"If it's anything like the stuff that Margaret used on Mary once, I'd say a few hours," Frank replied.

"When did Mary have to be sedated?" John asked trying to recall anytime this might have happened. The only time he could think of was when Nathan had threatened to sedate her, after they got the news about the possibility that Dean may not survive.

"She developed the worst headaches after she turned 22. Nathan thought it might be stress from college and the wedding," Frank said.

John and Dean exchanged a look, each thinking the same thing. _Sam's vision's started when he was 22. Could Mary have experienced them as well? There was no way. Wouldn't Margaret have been killed on Mary's sixth month birthday? All the special kids they had encountered had experienced house fires. It had to be a coincidence, right? _

"How's Sam?" Bobby said as he came into the room. He had stopped Miles and found out which room they had put Sam in.

"He's still sleeping," Dean said as he stroked Sammy's hair and soothed it off his forehead.

"Frank," John said addressing his father-in-law. "Will you stay with the boys a second?" Frank nodded. "Bobby, I need to talk to you," he added and motioned for him to step out in the hallway.

"What is it John?" Bobby asked with concern. He took in the sight of the man before him. John's suit was rumpled and his tie was loosened. He was clearly agitated about something.

"I need you to do something for me," John requested.

"Anything, John, you know that," Bobby said sincerely.

"You may change your mind once you hear what it is," John warned.

"I'd do anything for you and the boys, John," Bobby repeated firmly and sincerely.

"I need you to look into Mary's background," John said softly. He didn't want to admit that his beloved Mary may have been a target of the demon before he's even met her.

Bobby was shocked by John's request, it was the last thing that he had expected. "What's going on, John?"

"Frank said Mary had bad headaches," John explained.

"So."

"They didn't start until after she was 22."

"Oh," Bobby said as realization started to settle in.

"Mary didn't have a house fire though. Have you heard of anything like this Bobby?" John asked, rubbing his brow and trying to drive away the headache he felt coming on. Mary couldn't have been a special child, she couldn't.

"I'll look into it, John, you have my word. Let me go call Jefferson," Bobby said naming one of the Winchesters' hunting friends. His original first contact had been Caleb and Bobby still missed his old mentor. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and took his leave. John wandered back into the room and took his place beside his boys.

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After Sam's attack, Margaret's guests took their leave. She had a feeling that she wouldn't be seeing her friends again. Sitting alone and in silence, she looked up when she heard someone enter the room.

Frank had excused himself from the room where his grandsons were, he wanted to talk to his wife about Mary.

"Francis," she said stiffly.

"Margaret, do you remember anything about Mary's headaches?" Frank asked, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

Margaret ignored her husband. "Really Francis, did you know about the childish display those people had planned?"

"Excuse me?" Frank asked.

"Did you want me to be embarrassed?"

"Let me tell you this, Margaret, I've got no sympathy for you, none. I know I didn't like John much at first, but the important thing was that Mary did. If she trusted John, I was willing to put up with him. John didn't have much, but he loved Mary, I know that now. If you'd stop judging people just because they're not rich, maybe you'd see that too. Did you know that Dean is just like Mary? He has her heart. Despite everything you did to him, he still wanted a relationship with you and before you protest that he was in on what happened at dinner, remember this, you hurt someone _**he**_ cared about. He and Bobby are very close. Plus, he's the spitting image of his mother. Sam has Mary's enthusiasm for learning, he loved school, just like Mary did. He earned a full scholarship to Stanford with a shot at law school. Mary's boys are special, Margaret, and I feel sorry for you that you can't see past the fact that they don't have money," Frank lectured.

"Francis, I will not get into this again. My friends will never speak to me again," Margaret lamented.

"I can't believe you," Frank said exasperated. "If they can't take a joke, they were never your friends to begin with and I say good riddance."

"FRANCIS," Margaret exclaimed. "You don't mean that."

"The hell I don't," Frank said firmly. "I do agree with one thing though, I don't want to get into this again. I want to know more about Mary's headaches."

"There's nothing to tell. She was here one day, grabbed her head like Samuel did. A few minutes later, she was fine. I asked Nathan to look at her and he gave me some sedatives in case it happened again."

"How many times did it happen?" Frank asked.

"Once," Margaret admitted. "The first time was when she was here a few days before she was to marry that grease monkey. She had another headache so I gave her the injection then she slept it off and went home."

"Did she say anything after she had the headache?" Frank questioned.

"It was years ago, Francis, how am I supposed to remember that?" Margaret said wondering why her husband cared so much about something that had happened so long ago.

"Think," Frank instructed.

Margaret frowned in concentration. She remembered her daughter coming to ask her to come to the wedding, one more time. She remembered refusing, asking her daughter why she insisted on marrying someone so far beneath her. She remembered her daughter falling to the floor in pain. She remembered giving her daughter the sedative. Wait, she remembered her daughter mentioning something about someone dying in a fire.

"If I remember correctly, she talked about a fire, and some man with glowing yellow eyes. I told her it was a nightmare, after effects of the sedative," Margaret informed her husband.

Frank recalled John mentioning that a demon with yellow eyes was responsible for Mary's death. He had to talk to John right now. He turned and hightailed it out of the room.

Margaret watched her husband's retreating form. She wondered exactly when her life had gone to hell.

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Dean had remained at his brother's side, his mind going a mile a minute about headaches and the age of 22, that's when Sam abilities started.

"Hey, dad," Dean addressed his father.

_Please don't ask what I think you're__about to, John thought. _"Yeah, what is it?" John said.

"Do think mom was like Sam?"

_Damn it. _"I don't know, buddy," John said using his nickname name for his son. "I have Bobby looking into it. I want to be with Sam when he wakes up."

"How can that be, though? There was no fire. Last year, me and Sam met Max Miller and his mother was killed like ours. In Salvation, Rosie's mom was almost killed in a fire," Dean said.

"I don't know, son. Let's just wait for Bobby," John said, wanting to delay the moment of truth for as long as possible.

"JOHN," a harried voice called to him. Both John and Dean looked up and saw Frank bolt into the room. He was breathing hard, trying to catch his breath. "I just... I just talked to Mar... Margaret."

"Catch your breath, Frank," John cautioned. He knew Frank had had a heart attack in the past and he didn't want anything to happen to him now.

Frank took John's advice. He took some calming breaths and tried again. "I talked to Margaret. She said that the day Mary had a headache, after she woke up, she talked about a fire and a man with glowing yellow eyes. What's happening, John?" Frank asked, not bothering to hide the fear in his voice.

"I don't know," John admitted.

Bobby walked into the room and put his cell phone back in his pocket. "I just talked to Jefferson."

"What did you find out?" John demanded.

"You're not going to like it," Bobby said honestly.

"Spill," Dean said firmly.

"He was working a job in Guthrie, Oklahoma. There was a series of suspicious deaths. A mild mannered doctor, walked into a gun store and shot the clerk and himself, another woman doused herself with gasoline and then set herself on fire. He discovered a set of twins with powers of mind control. One was killed by the other when he tried to kill the other's girlfriend. He dug further and found out that the woman, named Holly Beckett, who burned gave birth to twins in 1983 and gave them up for adoption. One twin, Andrew Gallagher, lost his adoptive mother in a house fire when he was six months old. The other twin Anson Williams, didn't. Yet both twins had the same ability," Bobby said. "From what Jefferson could gather, not all of these special kids have had house fires."

"So it's possible that the demon came for Mary when she was sixth months old," John said flabbergasted. "But why? Why kill some mothers and not others."

"I don't know, John," Bobby admitted. "The only thing I can come up with is that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They interrupted whatever the demon was doing."

"So mom died for nothing," Dean said angrily. He really wanted to kill that yellow eyed son of a bitch.

"Easy, Dean. We don't know anything for sure," John cautioned.

"Really, because it seems pretty damn sure to me," Dean said. He was in no mood to be placated. He turned and punched the wall, hard.

"Damn it, Dean. Did you hurt yourself?" Bobby asked with concern. The boy did not need this. None of them did.

"I'm good," Dean said, refusing to let anyone check his had. He knew it wasn't broken, he had just bruised the knuckles.

"Let's all take a step back for a minute," Frank said, trying to be the voice of reason. Bobby, John and Dean were all on edge and he was afraid they were about to start hitting each other next. "We have no way of knowing what happened with Mary. Let's wait for Sam to wake up, then go from there."

"I agree. You said Mary was out for a few hours after the sedative?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, but Sam's bigger, I'm not sure how much of that stuff Nathan gave him."

"But dad..." Dean stated.

"Enough, Dean," John ground out. "Let's deal with Sam's vision first, then we'll look into this new information, I promise."

"Dad," Dean said again. He was not about to be put off.

"That's an order, Dean," John said firmly.

"Yes, sir," Dean muttered without sincerity, but John let it go and Dean turned back to his brother.

Conversation stalled after that. None of them had any clue as to what to say or do next. They all sat in silence, contemplating what was going to come next.

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Frank stayed with his family for the next couple of hours but the long day had started to take its toll, after all, he wasn't as young as he used to be. He eventually took his leave, asking them to inform him when Sam had woken up. He wandered into the hallway and headed towards a specific room.

His emotions were in turmoil and he knew he would have never been able to sleep, so he did what he always did when he missed his daughter, he went to her room to look at the photos on her dresser. They reminded Frank of some great times.

Shortly after Frank left, Sam started to stir. He had been fighting the sedatives and was winning the battle. He blinked, trying to clear away the cobwebs and the darkness that threatened to drag him back under.

"Sammy," Dean said when he felt Sam twitch.

"I'm here, Sammy," John said adding his assurances.

Sam's mouth felt like he had been sucking on cotton balls and he asked for some water. Bobby grabbed a glass from the bathroom and filled it up.

"What did you see, Sammy?" John asked after Sam had drunk his fill. There was no beating around the bush, they had already lost valuable hours.

"A man," Sam said. "In a girl's bedroom. The demon was there and he killed the man, just like mom. Someone else was there, a woman. I heard a scream," Sam said as he tried to describe what he had seen. The man's back had been to him, but Sam knew that he recognized him, he just couldn't place him and it was driving him crazy. "The man in my vision, I think I know him," Sam added.

"Think Sam. If you can't place the man, describe the room. It may trigger something," Bobby said reasonably. He had been a hunter for a longer time and he a really bad feeling at this.

Sam thought back to his vision. "The walls were soft colors, I forget what they call it."

"Pastel," Dean offered. "What?" He said when Sam gave him a funny look. "I remember mom saying she loved pastels."

John shuddered as if he had been hit with a bucket of ice water. An uneasy feeling was growing in his stomach. "Con... uh, Continue, Sam," he stammered.

"The bed had a pink flower pattern and there were three posters on the wall,"

"Ja...mes, ah James Dean," John asked in a shaky voice.

Sam looked at his father in surprise. "How did you...?" He trailed off. All of a sudden he knew why the man seemed familiar.

"Dad, Sam," Dean said in fear.

"Oh my God," John said adding his fears. "That sounds like your mother's room. Frank told me at your mom's funeral that he had kept it exactly like it was. Mary had several family photographs on her dresser.

Dean's eyes grew wide in terror. This couldn't be happening. "Where's mom's room?" he demanded.

John took charge. "Bobby," he said authoritatively. "Get the colt out of the Impala's trunk. The rest of us will stake out your mom's room. It's the last one in this hallway on the right." He tossed the keys to his friend and Bobby bolted for the door.

John and Sam looked at each other. They knew they had to stop this. It would destroy Dean if something happened to Frank. Even Bobby wouldn't be able to bring him back from that.

_**"NNNNOOOO!!!!" **_No sooner had Bobby left a scream rose from down the hall.

Dean paled. This was _**not**_ happening. "_**GRANDPA," **_he screamed. He didn't care that he had nothing to use to fight the demon, that yellow eyed son of a bitch was not going hurt anyone else he cared about. He dodged John's efforts to stop him and ran down the hall toward his mother's room.

"_**DEAN," **_Sam and John cried in unison and took off to stop him.

TBC

This chapter really didn't go like I had planned. I was just going to have Sam have the vision of Andy and focus more on the reactions of the people around him. I thought about having the demon go after Frank, but I was trying to think of a way to tie him to the yellow eyed demon, since all of Sam's visions are. Then, while watching the finale inspiration struck. Mary apparently had encountered the yellow eyed demon before so the connection was natural and this chapter became about Sam's vision.

Please read and review and let me know if you think this chapter worked.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24.

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

Thank you to my beta reader Soar. Any left over mistakes are completely my own.

**Mary's Room.**

Frank looked at a picture of Mary and himself, taken at her college graduation. He had been such a proud father that day. Mary had worked hard and earned a teaching degree, she wanted to teach early elementary, as she loved working with kids. She had looked so beautiful that day. He put that photo down and picked up one of Mary and John at the beach, both looking so happy and carefree.

_Thunk._

Frank jumped when he heard something behind him. He turned and felt himself calm and his heartbeat slow down when he saw it was just his butler. "Oh, Miles, it's just you. You startled me."

**Guest bedroom.**

"What did you see, Sammy?" John asked after Sam had drunk his water. There was no time to beat around the bush, they had already lost valuable hours.

"A man," Sam said. "In a girl's bedroom. The demon was there and he killed the man, just like mom. Someone else was there as well, a woman. I heard a scream," Sam said as he tried to describe what he had seen. The man's back had been to him, but Sam knew that he recognized him, he just couldn't place him and it was driving him crazy. "The man in my vision, I think I know him," Sam added.

"Think, Sam. If you can't place the man, describe the room, it may trigger something," Bobby said reasonably. He had been a hunter for a long time and he had a really bad feeling about this.

Sam thought back to his vision. "The walls were soft colors, I forget what they call it," he murmured faintly.

"Pastel," Dean offered. "What?" he said when Sam gave him a funny look. "I remember mom saying she loved pastels."

John shuddered as if he had been hit with a bucket of ice water. An uneasy feeling was growing in his stomach. "Con... uh, Continue, Sam," he stammered.

**Mary's Room.**

"Sorry, sir, I didn't mean to startle you. I was just wondering if there was anything you needed before I turn in," Miles offered.

"No, thank you, Miles. I'm okay."

"If you're sure," Miles said.

"I am, good night," Frank said as he turned back to Mary's pictures.

"Mary sure was a pretty girl," Miles commented.

"Yeah, no one was ever as beautiful as her," Frank agreed with a touch of pride in his voice.

"You want to know what my favourite memory of her was?" Miles asked.

Frank knew that Mary had often confided in their old, trusted, family servant. He would love to know what memories Miles held of his beloved baby girl.

"Please tell me?" Frank said almost begging.

"Hearing her scream," said a cold hard voice.

**Guest Bedroom.**

"The bed had a pink flower pattern and there were three posters on the wall," Sam continued.

"Ja...mes, ah James Dean?" John asked in a shaky voice.

Sam looked at his father in surprise. "How did you…?" He trailed off. All of a sudden he knew why the man had seemed familiar.

"Dad, Sam," Dean said in fear.

"Oh my God," John said adding his fears. "That sounds like your mother's room."

**Mary's Room**

Frank whipped around and faced his butler and he was brought up short when he took in the man before him. It was Miles, yet something about him seemed different. His eyes, which were always warm and friendly, now seemed threatening. His face was hard and uninviting. Frank couldn't believe it when he watched the dark brown eyes of his butler start to glow a bright yellow.

Before Frank could react, he found himself flying across the room, as if being pushed by invisible hands. He felt himself slam into the far wall and found himself pinned, unable to move. He did the only thing he could do. He screamed.

_**"NNNNOOOO!!!!"**_

**Guest Bedroom**

Dean's eyes grew wide in terror. This couldn't be happening. "Where's mom's room?" he asked.

John took charge. "Bobby," he said with authority. "Get the colt out of the Impala's trunk. The rest of us will stake out your mom's room, it's the last one in this hallway, on the right." He tossed the keys to his friend and Bobby bolted for the door.

John and Sam looked at each other, they knew they had to stop this, it would destroy Dean if something happened to Frank now, even Bobby wouldn't be able to bring him back from that.

_**"NNNNOOOO!!!!" **_No sooner had Bobby left than a scream rose from down the hall.

Dean paled. This was _**not**_ happening. "_**GRANDPA," **_he screamed. He didn't care that he had nothing to use to fight the demon, that yellow eyed son of a bitch was not going hurt anyone else he cared about. He dodged John's efforts to stop him and ran down the hall toward his mother's room.

"_**DEAN," **_Sam and John cried out in unison and took off to stop him.

Dean sped down the hall toward his mother's room. His emotions were churning like the sea during a violent storm. He had just gotten his family back and he would be damned if he was going to lose any of them.

Dean reached the open door at the end of the hall and felt a small glimmer of hope when he saw his grandpa pinned against the wall, struggling to move. He was alive. Thinking with his heart, rather than his head, Dean charged in through the open doorway, fully intending to tackle the man the demon was possessing. No one was going to hurt his grandpa.

Brilliant_move, Winchester, _was Dean's next thought as he found himself pinned to the wall next to his grandfather.

Sam and John were not far behind Dean, but those few seconds proved costly when, just as they approached the door, it slammed shut and no matter what they did, it held fast.

**Inside Mary's bedroom.**

Dean could hear his father and brother pounding on door as he found himself face to face with their life long nemesis. "Well, well, well, we meet again, young Winchester," the possessed form of Miles said in his best imitation of Darth Vader.

"Don't quit your day job," Dean quipped.

"Never could control that smart mouth, could you, boy?" the demon replied.

"Yeah, must have been absent when they taught that lesson in kindergarten," Dean responded with a smirk.

"Still hiding behind the smart ass attitude, I see."

"No, what you see is what you get."

"Ah, Dean, maybe you shouldn't piss it off," Frank commented. Was this actually happening? Was Miles possessed by a demon? Was his grandson actually mouthing off to it? Was he going crazy?

"You should listen to grandpa, young Winchester, he knows what he's talking about," the demon cautioned.

Dean felt his anger grow. That stupid son of a bitch had no right to speak about his grandpa so familiarly.

**Hallway**

"**SHUT UP." **they all heard Dean scream.

_What the hell was that thing doing to his son now, John thought, Dean couldn't take much more before he was permanently__broken._

"Dad, what are we going to do? We have to get in there," Sam said frantically.

"I know, Sammy," John said, his own voice betraying his fear for his father-in-law and his eldest son.

"That thing will kill them both," Sam said. He was _**not**_ going to lose his brother.

"Don't you think I know that, Sammy," John replied as he desperately wracked his brain for a plan.

"John, what's going on?" Bobby called to them as he ran down the hallway, holding the one thing that could stop the demon.

"Frank and Dean are trapped in the room with the Demon and the door's stuck," John explained with a sigh of relief at Bobby's return. His friend was an expert on demons, if anyone could get them out of this mess, it was Bobby.

"We need a plan," Bobby said trying to be the voice of reason, even though he was every bit as panicked as John and Sam. It would be like losing his own son if something happened to Dean. _And if something does happen__to him,__I will march into hell myself and slaughter each and every one of those evil sons of bitches. So help me God, Bobby vowed._

"My plan is to bust in and shoot that son of a bitch," John stated.

"Then you'll end up on the wall next to Dean and Frank and the demon will have the gun," Bobby tried to reason with frantic father.

**Mary's Room.**

_**"SHUT UP!"**_

"Struck a nerve, did I? You're so transparent, so pathetic. Fighting for a family that doesn't want you, that has never wanted you."

Dean's first instinct was to agree with what the demon was saying, but then he thought about everything that had happened recently. His father and Sam making every effort to get along for his sake. His dad sticking around rather than taking off after the encounter with the demon and the crash. Meeting his grandfather, and Frank following him all the way to Bobby's to try to patch things up with him. Bobby always being there. His family did want him. Plus, he could hear the pounding on the door and knew that his family was trying to get to him.

"You need new material, that's getting really old," he said, refusing to wallow in self pity.

The demon was a little surprised when Dean didn't break like he had done in the cabin. The setback was very brief, however, and he launched into a new plan of attack. He could kill the young man anytime he wanted, but where was the fun in that? No, it would so much more fun to break him first. He had never met a challenge like Dean Winchester. The kid was like a cockroach, he just kept coming, and the demon was determined to best him.

"New material, thanks for the advice. What do you think about this?" the demon said as Frank suddenly flew off the wall and across the room, slamming into the opposite wall. As soon as he made contact, Frank let out a grunt of pain, and this time, the demon got the reaction he was looking for. Dean went mad.

He began straining against the invisible bonds, trying to pull himself off the wall to get to his grandfather. "**LEAVE HIM ALONE,****YOU SON OF A BITCH!!"**

**Hallway**

Sam began pounding on the door once more when he heard Dean scream, he knew that the demon had to be doing something to Frank. Sam was shocked when he realized that his own feelings weren't just about how Dean would react if something happened to their grandfather, Sam didn't want anything to happen to Frank, period.

"Sam," Bobby said, trying to get through to the distraught young man. "This is going to do you no good. We have to find another way in."

"Oh yeah, let me get out my handy-dandy guide to secret tunnels in large mansions," Sam said sarcastically.

"Look, smartass," Bobby said as he tried to think, Sam had sounded eerily like his older brother. "Go find Miles or Margaret, they'll know the layout of the place," he instructed the younger man.

"I'm not leaving my brother, Bobby," Sam said stubbornly.

"Damn it, Sam," John growled, his son never stopped questioning orders. "Never mind, I'll do it. You two just keep working on that door."

Before he could take off down the hallway, though, they heard Frank scream Dean's name and then there was a click and the door started to swing inwards, as if they were being invited to join the party.

**Mary's Room**

Dean was still struggling with all his might, trying to accomplish the impossible and free himself of the demon's hold on him. All of a sudden, his grandfather was next to him again.

"Grandpa, are you alright?" Dean asked trying to stay calm.

"Yeah, a bit of a headache, but nothing a few Tylenol wouldn't cure," Frank said trying to reassure his grandson.

"Isn't that touching?" the demon commented. "Now it's grandpa's turn to watch." With that, Dean went flying across the room and slammed into the opposite wall. Unfortunately, Dean was taller than Frank, his head connected with the corner of a wall shelf and he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

"DEAN!!!"

"Oops, got to be more careful," the demon said sarcastically. "Let's say we invite more people to join the fun." The demon released the invisible hold on the door and it opened slowly.

**HALLWAY**

The three men wanted to charge into the room and put a bullet right through it's heart, but they knew that if they did, they were all going to be trapped.

"I'm going in to distract it," Sam said suddenly. "Then you guys send it straight back to hell." With that, Sam bolted into the room before John or Bobby could stop him.

Of course, the minute Sam entered the room, he found himself right next to Frank. Having both his boys trapped was more than John could bear, so he followed Sam and ended up right next to his youngest son and his father-in-law. Neither John nor Sam missed Dean lying in an unconscious heap on the floor and they could only hope that he was okay he was okay. They both started struggling futilely, but quickly realised that they were trapped. At least Bobby was still their ace in the hole, or so they thought. Bobby pulled out the colt, aimed it straight out in front of him and walked boldly into the room.

"LET THEM GO," he demanded, his anger growing as he took in Dean's prone from. This demon had broken the number one rule, you didn't mess with his family.

"My, my, the gang's all here," the demon commented in an almost sing song voice. "Oh no, you got me. I'm shaking in my boots. Please spare me."

"I said let them go," Bobby repeated in that deadly calm voice.

"Let me guess, I'll never get away with it," the demon said mocking Bobby. "And if I don't, what are you gonna do about it? Shoot me? What if you miss, you've only got one try."

"I won't miss," said Bobby confidently.

Bobby continued to hold the gun unwaveringly on the demon. He knew how easily the demon could vaporize itself into a mist so he had to fire at exactly the right time. Before Bobby could react though, the demon took hold of Dean's limp form and held the unconscious man in front of himself like a shield. Bobby cursed. There was no way to shot the demon now, he would hit Dean.

"Not so sure of yourself now, are you? I know all about you, Robert Singer. Your family all but disowned you and now you're all alone. I mean, when's the only time you see the Winchesters? When they need something, right? Tell me, do they ever stop in just to say howdy?"

"SHUT UP," John screamed. "Don't listen to him." John called to his friend. They couldn't afford to have Bobby falter.

"When I want comments from the peanut gallery, I'll ask for them. Don't fret though, it will be your turn soon enough, John. Now, where was I? Oh yes, poor, pathetic Bobby, all alone."

"Nice try," Bobby said refusing to buy into the demon's words. He and John were brothers, Sam and Dean were as much his sons as they were John's, Bobby believed that with all his heart.

"Oh, yeah, you're real protective of your Winchesters, aren't you? What would you say if I did this?" The Demon released his hold on Dean and sent him flying through the air once more, crashing into another wall.

**"DEAN!!!"** shouted Frank, John, Sam and Bobby, all at once.

Unfortunately, this gave the demon the opportunity it had been waiting for. Bobby allowed the gun to dip ever so slightly and he soon found himself pinned on the wall, next to others. The gun landed in a useless heap beside Dean's limp form.

All four men began struggling once again, to no avail. The demon had them all trapped.

"Now, I do believe that I said I'd get to you next, John, and I have a special surprise for you." The demon laughed as John struggled futilely againt the hands that were now pressed against his forhead.

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John found himself standing in Sam's nursery, the demon standing over the baby who lay innocently in his cradle.

"Sammy," John cried as he rushed forward and tried to grab his son.

"No one can see or hear us, John. Watch closely," the demon instructed.

John watched as the demon cut his wrist and let his blood drop into Sammy's mouth.

"You son of a bitch," John growled.

"Wait, the best is yet to come."

John saw Mary walk by the room and ask if the baby was hungry. Then he heard her scream and run back to the room.

"YOU," she cried.

"You know the rest," the demon said and John suddenly found himself back in Mary's old room.

"John, what did you see?" Frank asked.

The demon's vision had left John in a daze and he didn't answer right away. Had Mary really recognized the demon? Was it just because she apparently had visions like Sam, or was it something else entirely?

"Your beloved daughter and I had a history," the demon said to Frank before John could answer. "I came to see her when she was six months old and give her a wonderful gift, making her one of my children."

"You son of a bitch," Frank yelled and tried to lunge for the demon, but he was held fast.

"Your daughter sure was a strong one, she resisted me, but I didn't get to where I am because I started sleeping with the boss. No, I found another way to break her," the demon said as he taunted Mary's loved ones.

"You're lying," Sam accused.

"Ah, Samuel. I knew Mary's children would be just as special as she was. The first one, well, can't win them all, but you, Sammy..."

"Don't call me that!!" Sam snapped.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to interrupt? You were just what I was looking for, so I made you special, just like your mother."

"For what?" Sam asked belligerently.

"My plans for you and all the children like you."

"You've said that before. What plans?" Sam asked firmly, his fear increasing by the second.

"All in good time. I can't reveal all it all at once, where's the fun in that," the demon commented.

"I've got news for you. Mom resisted and so will I," Sam stated with a confidence he didn't feel.

"Everyone has their breaking point. I found your mother's, I'll find yours," the demon snarled.

"What did you do to Mary, you son of a bitch?" John growled as he finally found his voice.

"I gave her back the thing she feared losing the most," the demon said cryptically.

A thought ran through Bobby's head, one he really didn't like and hoped with all his might that he was wrong. Demon's lie, he told himself firmly.

"No way," Frank yelled. "Mary was a good person. She would never have dealt with the likes of you."

"It's a good thing we've got all night because there's a lot you don't know," the demon said.

Unbeknownst to the demon, Dean had started to regain consciousness. He had resisted the urge to groan because he didn't want the demon to know he was awake. He could see the colt about two feet away from him and now all he needed was an opportunity.

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Margaret Jackson had climbed into bed earlier that evening, bemoaning the fact that her life was over. She would talk to her husband about selling this place and they could start over in a new town where no one knew them.

She was usually a pretty sound sleeper, but all the commotion had woken her. Well, enough was enough. She was not going to put up with this anymore and that included her husband. If Frank wanted these people in their lives, then he could go live with them.

She stalked down the hall, toward the noise that appeared to be coming from her daughter's old room. She halted in surprise at the entrance though, she couldn't believe what her eyes were telling her. Her husband, the grease monkey, the grease monkey's youngest son and that other one were standing against the wall while they screamed at her butler, while grease monkey's older son appeared to be taking a nap in the corner. She knew they were an odd bunch, but this was just too much.

"What in God's name is all this ruckus about?" she questioned as she stepped into the room.

The demon was distracted by Margaret's sudden appearance and turned as she entered the room, giving Dean exactly the opportunity he had been waiting for. The demon's back was to him and Dean reached over and grabbed the colt.

"The reason why a bad guy's diabolical plan never works is because they spend way too much time monologuing about it instead of actually doing anything," Dean informed the demon as he rose shakily to his feet, causing the demon to turn and face the middle Winchester. Dean didn't hesitate, he felt a momentary flash of guilt about killing his grandfather's butler, though, as he pulled the trigger. The last bullet scored a direct hit to the heart. The host body jerked as it felt the bullet enter the body. The body spasmed, almost as if whatever made the bullet work reacted to the pure evil of the demon, causing an internal struggle. There was a flash and then black smoke leaked from the wound instead of blood. At last the bullet won and the body fell to the ground, the yellow glow fading Miles' dark brown.

Dean dropped the gun and slumped, his strength spent, struggling against the darkness that tried to pull him back under. "I'm sorry, grandpa," he said dejectedly.

Sam, Bobby, Frank and John found themselves released from the wall. Sam and John headed over to Dean and wrapped their arms around him. Bobby wanted to comfort him as well, but he made his way over to Margaret, who was in a complete state of shock catching her in his arms as she passed out. He picked her up and carried her to Mary's old bed, laying her on it gently.

"Can I tell her I gave her mouth to mouth?" Bobby quipped, trying to ease the tension in the room.

Frank, who was also frozen with shock, finally came around and couldn't help the chuckle that came out of him. "Probably cause her to pass out again," Frank remarked.

With Margaret safe and sound, they both made their way over to Dean. Frank put his arm on Dean's shoulder.

"It's alright, Dean. I'm not mad. You didn't have a choice."

"I killed your friend," Dean said sadly.

"I'll miss him," Frank said honestly. "But you're family. I wouldn't have survived if something had happened to you."

Dean gave his grandfather a small smile.

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Nobody knew what to say and do in that moment. The demon was finally dead.

John stayed close to his boys' side, he wanted to be near them. His thoughts were racing a mile a minute though. There was an inkling in the back of his mind about what the demon had been talking of, but it refused to make itself known. It could wait for now. The demon was dead.

Sam's thoughts were similar to his father's. How had the demon known their mother? Did he still have to worry about the demon's plans for him ? Sam also came to the conclusion that it could wait for now. The demon was dead.

Dean, who had been unconscious throughout most of the ordeal, was just glad that his family was alive and well. He truly regretted that he'd had to kill his grandfather's butler, but like Sam had said after Dean had killed that guy in the alley, he didn't have a choice, the guilt could come later. Right now, he was going to celebrate the fact that the demon was dead, at last.

Frank was glad that everyone was safe. He would miss his old servant and friend, but his grandson hadn't had a choice. He had only heard about this stuff a short while ago, but he was so glad that this threat to his family was gone, as was the thing that had taken his beloved Mary. The demon was dead.

Bobby was glad that the demon never had a chance to reveal what it knew about Mary. He had a thought as to what it was, but he refused to let himself believe it. Bobby hoped that it was one thing John and the boys would never find out because if he was right, it would only cause more grief and heartache. _Demons lie, Bobby repeated to himself. _Right now, though, none of that mattered because the demon was dead.

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Bobby took charge of the scene. Dean had ended up with another concussion so Bobby sent him to bed with instructions for Sam to wake him every hour.

Fortunately, it was a large estate so there were no neighbours for the gunshot to alert, for which Bobby was grateful. He called a contact and arranged for Miles' body to be taken away. He and Frank concocted a cover story that Miles had gone on vacation and Bobby's contact was going to make it look like he had been killed in an accident.

When Margaret came around, she couldn't remember a thing. It had all been too much for her to bear so she had blocked it all from her mind. When she got a call a couple of days later to say that their butler had been killed in a car accident, she was none the wiser.

Bobby had to get back to his business. He knew that John and the boys were not ready to leave just yet, so he encouraged them to stay and went to see about borrowing one of Frank's cars. As he was about to go approach him, John came to him.

"Bobby, thanks for everything," John said sincerely.

"Anytime, Johnny, you know that. I can tell something else is on your mind though. What is it?"

_Damn if Bobby couldn't read him like a book._ "The demon, what did it mean when it said it gave Mary back the thing she feared losing the most?"

"I don't know. It's dead, does it really matter?"

"Yes," John said stubbornly.

"What good would it do? It won't change anything. You have your boys, John, they should be enough. Be with them," Bobby cautioned wisely.

"You suspect something don't you?" John asked as he read the meaning behind Bobby's words.

"No," Bobby said quickly. He could tell that John didn't believe him though. "Enjoy your life and your family, John. You could lose them if you go looking into this. You may not like what you find," Bobby warned.

"But..."

"No. I won't discuss this anymore," Bobby stated firmly. "Stay here and let Dean recover. Then I expect you to stop by and visit, but drop this whole thing. Demon's lie, Johnny, you know that. It probably just said that to get to you."

"But…" John tried once more.

"Johnny," Bobby growled. "Your pursuit of this demon almost cost you both your sons. You got a second chance with them. If you pursue this, you might not get a third."

John conceded. Bobby had a point. He wouldn't leave his boys to look into this, but they would continue to hunt. There were still people to save, but John decided that he would make some discrete inquiries. He couldn't just ignore this, but for right now, he knew where he needed to be. He said goodbye to Bobby and headed toward the room where his boys were.

Bobby asked Frank about a car and Frank was so grateful to Bobby for everything he had done, that he took him to the garage and told him he could pick one. Bobby jokingly said he would take the Ferrari and he was shocked when Frank handed him the keys and told him to enjoy it. Bobby immediately protested and informed Frank he couldn't accept it. Frank told him that it was rude to refuse a gift, saying that he could get another car, but not another family. Bobby couldn't believe it and he drove home a very happy man.

A few days later, the Winchesters said their goodbyes.

Dean walked down the hall toward the study where his grandmother liked to have her afternoon tea. He couldn't believe he was about to do this.

"Good afternoon," he said tentatively as he poked his head in the room. He had remembered what his grandmother had said to him the day he first met her.

"What is it?" Margaret said stiffly.

"I, um, I just wanted to say thank you for letting us stay here and I wanted to say, um, ah, that I was sorry about dinner the other night."

Margaret regarded the young man standing before her. She could see what her husband had been saying now. She may have disapproved of many of the things Mary had done, but she had been her daughter. Her eldest son was the spitting image of her. "I accept your apology," she said finally.

"It was nice meeting you, grandma," Dean said sincerely.

For some reason, it didn't seem to grate on her nerves and she realized that Dean had said it with respect and she appreciated the fact that he had enough manners to apologize.

"It was a pleasure to make your acquantaince," Margaret said formally and she picked up her book. Dean decided to take what he could get and politely exited the room.

The goodbye with Frank was much more cheerful. There were lots of hugs and I'll miss yous and promises to call and stop by when they were next in town.

Frank stood in the open doorway of his home as he watched the Impala make its way down the driveway. His gaze remained foward facing, even as he heard someone walk up behind them.

"I'm sure they will be back, Francis. They have not tortured me nearly enough."

That caught his attention and Frank turned and regarded his wife. Had she just actually made a joke? What was that word that his son-in-law had told him to use if you thought someone was possessed? Crisco? No that was a type of cooking oil. "Are you going to miss them too?" Frank asked his wife as he gave up trying to remember the word.

"Good heavens, no," Margaret said a little too quickly.

"Me too," Frank said. He finally remembered the importance of family and he did something he hadn't done in a long time. He put his arm around his wife's shoulders. "Want to go out to the club for dinner?"

Her first thought was to refuse in case they ran into their friends, but something wouldn't let her. "Are you asking me on a date?"

"Guess so. Want to accompany me? We can take the new caddy."

"Alright, just do not try that running out of gas thing," Margaret said.

Suddenly the word just popped into Frank's head. "Christo," he muttered.

"Did you say something, Frank?"

"Nothing. Come on I'm starving."

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Dean sat behind the wheel of his Impala and headed toward the city limits. As he was driving, he saw a sign for St. Matthew's Cemetary. On impulse, not really understanding why, he turned right and headed toward the cemetary. John and Sam were equally surprised when he stopped the car close to where Mary was buried.

Dean went to get out of the car and John made to follow him.

"Wait here," Dean said softly to his father. He still wasn't sure he wanted to do this, or was even able to do this. He stood beside the car for a good 15 minutes before taking a small, tentative step in the direction of his mom's grave.

"Dad," said Sam with concern. "Should we follow him?"

"No Sammy, I think he needs to do this by himself," John answered as he kept his eyes on his eldest son.

They both watched as Dean approached Mary's grave. He put a hand lightly on top of the tombstone and dropped to his knees. He stayed in that position for almost two hours before he got up and returned to the car. John and Sam had been mostly silent as they both kept a watchful eye on Dean for signs that he might need them, but when John saw Dean approaching the car, he got out and informed Sam to stay put. When Dean approached, John could see that his eyes were red rimmed, like he'd been crying.

"I don't feel like driving," Dean informed his father in a tone that clearly stated the matter was closed and he was not about to discuss it. He flipped his father the keys and got in the passenger side. John looked towards heaven, a big grin on his face. His voice was full of emotion when he said, "Mary, that's our boy."

THE END

A/N: This seemed like a good place to end. When I first started this story, I had intended to make Frank every bit a snob as Margaret, and have it go about 2 or 3 chapters. Guess you all know how that worked out. Big grin. I also wanted to redeem Margaret, so I decided to have her save the day, even if it was by accident. I would like to thank everyone that read, reviewed and encouraged me to keep going. It meant a lot to me. Also one more huge thank you to my beta reader Soar for all her suggestions on how to improve each chapter and for all her hard work on this story.

I hope that this was a fitting end, please read and review and let me know what you thought.


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